Ah! My Gilded Cage
by zeroIQ
Summary: Becoming the poster girl of Niflheim might seem like every demoness' dream, yet to a former goddess, it's likely far from that. Following an incident that put her in such a position, Belldandy and the rest of her group of fallen goddesses need to find their way back home. (AU story based on the manga).
1. Chapter 1

Back when the AMG manga was still running, I must admit that the whole Niflheim arc kind of intrigued me. There was a great potential for speculating what possible outcomes might've come out of that situation, and even as I worked on "Ah! The following day" several of those scenarios kind of popped into my mind. Of course, for more than obvious reasons, I chose to maintain the same lighthearted feel to my first and probably longest story, yet at the same time, I kind of wished to explore some of those scenarios in a very different kind of story.

Before anyone starts wondering, this isn't my declaration of abandoning the lighthearted comedies I so much enjoy writing, since I don't consider any form of style as inherently superior to another. However, I do feel that before starting yet another comedy series, I wanted to try writing something a lot more serious.

Naturally, this means that I must warn you that this story might contain some mild cases of coarse language, violence and even adult (in some cases even occasionally controversial) themes, so if you're expecting the same thing as the majority of my other works, then you're in for a surprise. I do however reassure you that I'm not going to throw anything too graphic in this story (with the potential exception of some action scenes -but then again, not beyond what's depicted in popular media these days), so, there's going to be a fine line on how far I'm willing to go. Still, this is probably the first of my stories that really deserves the M rating I'm giving it. In all other cases, that was just to play safe, but not here.

With that in mind, this is an AU story based on the manga, along with elements imported from my other stories ("Ah! the following day" in particular). And while knowledge of the manga is obviously necessary to avoid feeling lost in here, anything else isn't really needed. I'm not expecting anyone to read the rest of my stories to figure out what's going on, as I'll address everything whenever I run onto them.

For those who might want to see something a bit different, I hope you're going to enjoy this story.

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

 _Beginning demonization procedure. Confirming remaining goddess energy: 2.623% remaining. Check complete. Injection possible. Magical chamber pressure rising. Injection beginning in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…_

"Bellda-..."

Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, the brunette tried to turn away from the source of that voice. The same monotonous and mechanical tone that seemed deceptively harmless and yet haunted the woman's dreams to this day; even if two and a half years had already past since that fateful incident.

"Belldandy!"

The voice became much more clear and feminine as the brunette struggled to turn her head away from its source. Yet despite the obvious annoyance that was laced in the rich, melodic tone of the woman beckoning her slumbering friend to wake up, there was also a hint of tenderness and even sadness.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

This time, the hand that reached for her naked shoulders proved to be enough to grab the brunette's attention. With a barely audible gasp, Belldandy woke up and immediately reached to grab the other woman's wrist, while her other hand unconsciously went over her own chest, making sure that she was adequately covered. At least as much as such a thing was even possible, considering the uncomfortable amount of skin her current outfit was revealing, in stark contrast to what the Norn actually wanted to show under normal circumstances. "Wha-... Peorth?"

"Well, it's about time you woke up, sleepy head! Falling asleep on the job doesn't sound like you, Belldandy." Despite the familiarity in her voice, Peorth didn't miss the irony of it all. A couple of years ago, this woman was her number one rival and the target of a childish grudge that lasted more than a couple of decades and over what now seemed to be an utterly pointless reason. She was of course a very different person back then; one with the luxury of devoting so much of her personal time to prove herself as the number one wish granter of Asgard. A goal that now sounded like a lost dream, a story of missed opportunities.

"Oh, give me a break! I've been here for… What was it again?... Ten? Eleven hours? Something like that. I just wanted to take a nap," complained the Norn as she rubbed her tired eyes, and then deactivated the holo-display of her workstation.

"Isn't that why we have our personal quarters, though? If you're done with your shift, then why the… Hell are you still here?" Even though Belldandy was a known workaholic, Peorth knew all too well that this was actually a thing of the past. Which to a certain degree was also true about Peorth herself, given that she too found herself unmotivated to work under their new boss.

"I don't want to spend more time there that it's absolutely necessary." It was such a strong statement, that there was no room for argument against her reasoning. Even though Peorth often tried to reassure her that she was simply too paranoid, Belldandy knew that taking the risk to corner herself in what was essentially a well disguised prison cell, was ill advised. No matter how spacious and opulent her ' _apartment_ ' seemed to be, Belldandy couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in it. The whole place was built like a bunker with extra thick walls designed to withstand a couple of blasts before giving away and most of the windows were permanently sealed and impossible to open, leaving only a few well guarded doors for anyone to both enter and leave the apartment.

"That again? Belldandy… I know that you don't trust our guards, nor should you, but at the same time it's unhealthy to be that paranoid," said Peorth with a heavy sigh, before she pointed at herself. "Look at what I'm wearing, and I reassure you that so far I've never been sexually harassed while living in there. I can't quite say the same while I'm _here_ , though."

Belldandy's only response was a slow nod, as she had no way to dispute Peorth's claim. Given that her coworker continued to wear an outfit that was eerily similar to the revealing bikini that almost became her trademark, it was kind of inevitable that many heads turned whenever Peorth walked by. Of course, the same thing happened in Asgard too, as her choice of clothing was indeed pretty eccentric, but the defining difference here was that occasionally, some of the demons didn't restrict themselves to merely gawking at the scantily clothed brunette. Actually, Belldandy herself witnessed numerous instances where some of the more brash demons would go as far as to give Peorth's barely covered backside an appreciative pat. More shocking yet was the fact that few them even had the nerve to stick around and try to have a chat with the very woman they ever so casually fondled.

Although celestial society wasn't exactly conservative per se, such blatant displays of harassment were almost unheard of. At least not without the risk of having the perpetrator arrested and punished for their transgressions. Here on Niflheim though, things were kind of different, as promiscuity was almost the norm than an exception of the rule. But then again, Belldandy knew that she had a very limited view of the demonic society. For the most part both she and Peorth were restricted to only the areas around the government buildings and their workplace, where their every move was closely monitored by their ever present guards. Neither of them had mingled with the general population for more than a few hours in total, despite being here for more than two years already, giving them a very skewed view of what real life in Niflheim was.

Worse, those practices had apparently gained popularity in the same amount of time she was here, at least according to the few demonesses Belldandy trusted enough to have a conversation with. Bedroom politics had always been a controversial topic for demons, with some supporting it as a means of avoiding unnecessary conflict, while others condemning such practices as it allowed weak individuals to climb up the ranks for all the wrong reasons. And for a former goddess who now had to mingle with the upper echelons of demonic society, where such methods of forming alliances were gaining popularity, it was a serious case of culture shock.

"How can you really say that, Peorth? Both of us know that it's a big, fat lie, and just because we're not restricted from lying, it doesn't mean that we have to. Not to each other, at least…" It actually took Belldandy a few seconds to realize that perhaps Peorth's intention was to cheer her up by that little lie. Yet Belldandy was no longer the same ignorant goddess she used to be, and such attempts of taking her mind of reality were practically lost on her. However, she had to give Peorth credit for being one of the very few demonesses here who actually cared about her, instead of merely seeing her as a trophy.

"Who's lying?" came Peorth's reply as the scantily clad demoness offered her coworker a shrug. "Given what they probably thought about me, based from… rumors that you too must've heard even back in Asgard, it's easy to imagine that I'm some easy go-... I mean… demoness. So, they think that I'm probably enjoying or even inciting such behavior, but once I explain that this is primarily a fashion choice and not necessarily an open invitation to my bedroom, none of them actually repeated such a stunt. If they were truly harassing me, then my opinion of the subject would've been totally indifferent to them."

Belldandy's eyebrows shot up in surprise as she never actually thought that the others got a very different idea of Peorth's personality, but at the same time, she was still quite skeptical. "I see… Although, I'm not entirely certain of their… honestly. Given the opportunity, I think that more than enough of them would've loved to do way more than be somewhat disrespectful. At the very least, I think that's more or less a convenient excuse to justify their actions."

"Oh, I have no delusions about that. This place can be quite dangerous if you're too ignorant of your surroundings. As long as you make sure that others know the risks of messing around with you, they're likely to leave you alone," said Peorth with a sneer as she climbed on a hovering chair opposite of Belldandy's and fiddled with her earrings. Which actually contained powerful seals designed to stop a demon dead in their tracks. And while effective against an individual or two, they were utterly insufficient to use against their numerous guards in an escape attempt, which was exactly why they were actually allowed to possess them in the first place. "However, you mustn't fall into the trap of thinking that everyone here is a wannabe molester or just a monster in general. Some, especially those outside of our immediate chain of command are kind of… normal. No matter how different their mannerisms can be at times, they too are people just like everyone else back in Asgard."

"Funny that, since I don't recall us capturing demons and turning them into celestials regardless of their desires," muttered Belldandy, even though a tiny part of her felt that this wasn't something she should say.

"We've done worse, actually," said Peorth in a low yet audible voice, making sure to grab Belldandy's attention. "In the past, atrocities were committed by both sides, but propaganda plays a huge role in concealing them from the populate. Remember that as far as the average demon is concerned we're the poster girls of Niflheim; two former goddesses who instead of being sealed or worse… disembodied… were offered a chance to integrate into their society, with respectable jobs and a rather comfortable lifestyle."

"Please… you and I know that this is merely a facade. In reality we're just prisoners living in a fancy prison," said Belldandy before she paused and scratched her chin, trying to come up with a term she remembered hearing a while ago. "A gilded cage, so to speak."

"It is what it is. However, make no mistake that as a demoness our emotions work in a vastly different way. I'm not trying to convince you that we should go happily with our lives, and forget that in the end all we want is go home. Yet anger is something much more powerful and potent to a demoness than to a goddess. If you lose control of your darker impulses, no matter who or what's responsible for them, you might cause a much more permanent damage by nourishing the darkness within us. And at some point, make it impossible to go back to the way you used to be."

As much as she'd love to dispute such a claim, Belldandy knew that there was a kernel of truth in Peorth's argument. It was the very reason why she struggled to keep from giving in to some of the less… noble impulses her new, demonic nature demanded, and instead she tried to almost live her life here as if she was still her old self. Which was very difficult at times, given that it was considerably easier for her to get angry; a stark contrast from her days as the forever calm and collected goddess everyone came to admire. Of course, back then she wasn't a prisoner forced to live a life she never chose. Which to a certain degree made it difficult to discern whether it was just her nature or the circumstances behind her current predicament that contributed the most to her temper. "I'm fully aware of that, but at the same time, there's little I can do to relieve myself of the daily stress we're going through. I cannot contact any of my relatives in Asgard, and even talking to Urd is very difficult. Or rather… finding the opportunity to visit her, since all our phone calls are obviously monitored and even recorded."

Peorth knew from the very beginning that separating the Norns would've caused a great deal of stress to all three of them, but perhaps it was Belldandy who was the most affected by it. While Urd and Skuld were somewhat more independent, Belldandy loved to have them around and take care of them, which was something she currently missed. Especially as her paranoia was pushing her away even from the few demons who could be described in a positive manner. "Actually, why don't you move in with me? Our apartments are so big, that it won't be a problem with both of us sharing one."

"That… would be nice, yes." It took a few moments for Belldandy to respond to her coworker's suggestion, but in the end she was uncertain on how to turn the offer down. There were some… rumors about Peorth's late night habits that made Belldandy somewhat apprehensive about sharing the same living space with a demoness who allegedly received visits late at night by cloaked individuals who somehow managed to sneak past her guards. Who those individuals were and what they wanted from Peorth was a source of much speculation, but Belldandy didn't dare ask for details.

"Excellent! As soon as I'm finished with my shift, I'll make sure to prepare the guest room for you!" said Peorth with a rare smile that she hadn't display for quite some time.

A smile that Belldandy also returned, despite her own reservations as to what kind of things she could involuntarily witness in that place. "Yes, I think it should be acceptable if we both share the same apartment. We're neighbors after all."

"Great! I'll even prepare a little surprise for you!" said Peorth, before she turned around to head to her own workstation, and missed the slight frown on Belldandy's face.

'That's… what worries me, actually.'

XXX

 _Asgard_

Located in one of the nine worlds that comprised the vast majority of the known cosmos was the capital city of the celestials. A bustling metropolis where the majority of the celestial population lived and worked in an environment that was in some ways similar in grandeur, yet totally different in style to that of their counterparts.

Where demons preferred a totally artificial and utilitarian architecture, celestials generally favored a fusion of art, nature and function, all in the same package; with most buildings incorporating all those aspects in almost perfect balance. As a result, the whole city was filled with gardens that were even incorporated in the tallest of skyscrapers, often surrounding every level with a much needed patch of green. Rivers ran along the main boulevards, since the celestial population had no need for motor vehicles, and therefore paved roads.

It was a peaceful and tranquil environment filled with beautiful artwork that decorated even the most insignificant of things. Perhaps to the point that the local population became almost used to the multitude of statues, paintings and carvings that covered every bit of usable space with their colorful and intricate motifs.

Yet in such a peaceful environment, the slightest departure of the norm was much more noticeable, and the loud screams of a panicked goddess was more than enough to scare away the wildlife that normally enjoyed living besides the locals.

" _Get up and face me like a proper goddess, you big crybaby!_ "

But not even the terrible voice of her opponent could help the hyperventilating brunette back on her wobbly feet. Every part of her body hurt; even those she didn't knew she possessed until they screamed her to give up and throw the white flag. She had bitten way more than she could chew and yet, the downed goddess made one more desperate attempt to get up. Only to have her opponent grab her by the ankle and send her flying across the terrace they've been fighting on, and… all the way to the nearby building where she collided with one of their neighbors' trees.

Following her without even a sign of hesitation, the goddess clad in her old combat fatigues stared down at her wannabe protegee with a mix of anger and concern. "Two and a half minutes and you're done for? You call _that_ a fight? Answer me, you worthless pup! If you don't have the guts to become a Valkyrie, then go hug a tree instead of wasting my time! GET UP NOW!"

"I'm… _trying, dammit!_ " came the pained reply as the dark haired goddess barely managed to stand up. Taking an unsteady step forward, the goddess almost fell on the ground when she lost her balance, yet she refused to give up. 'Now I see why they call her the Harpy… _Ow…_ '

Staring at her opponent with an almost neutral expression for several moments, Ansuz finally let out a sigh and clapped her hands to grab her student's attention. "Alright, that's enough for today's lesson. Anything beyond this is utterly pointless and actually counterproductive for tomorrow's session."

"Did I make any progress?"

The question made the retired Valkyrie pause and carefully consider her reply. She knew that if this was anyone else asking her, then the obvious answer would've been a resounding _no_ … followed by an official rejection of the cadet's application for a Valkyrie license. Yet this was a bit more complicated case than most others, since her student's age was significantly lower than any other applicant in the Fighting Wing's history. "I believe that you've improved a bit, although you still need a lot more practice before you actually get used to the way your aged-up body moves, Skuld. Your eye-hand coordination in particular is suffering, as well as your upper body balance; which is to be expected for an adult," said Ansuz, before she stopped and gave her daughter a stern look. "And if you make any jokes about _my_ upper body, I swear I'm gonna kick your sorry ass _so hard_ , you won't be able to sit for a few days, cadet! _Understood?_ "

"Yes, ma'am!" Despite the pain, Skuld managed to snap a salute at her mother and personal instructor, before the beeping sound coming out of the device strapped around her wrist caught her attention. 'Hm… 50% charge remaining. Not bad at all! This new battery is really lasting a lot more than the previous one!'

Now that the lesson was officially done, Ansuz stepped closer to her daughter and started to dust her dirt covered battle uniform. It was hard not to smile at her youngest child's determination and even dedication to not let anyone down ever again, but at the same time, Ansuz knew that inevitably, Skuld carried a burden on her that no other goddesses her age did. Actually, staring at the deceptively grown up goddess, Ansuz wasn't entirely sure how to describe her daughter anymore. She was definitely childish in many ways, yet after that fateful day, Skuld came to detest her actual age. After all, that was biggest reason why they never took her with them, since a young goddess would've been a liability during such a dangerous mission.

"Mother?" Noticing the sad look she was receiving from Ansuz, the Norn wasn't sure if she had done something wrong; at least besides failing to keep up with her otherwise brutal training regiment.

"It's alright. I'm actually quite proud of you, Skuld. And don't you ever forget that," said Ansuz as she offered her daughter a warm smile. "Because if you do, or let anyone try to convince you otherwise… I'm gonna kick you ass, young lady!"

" _Mom!..._ " groaned the goddess of the future as she rolled her eyes. "Seriously… Can't you say something really touching without ending up sounding like a big tsundere?"

"I can, but with you taking so much after me, I fear that you'll take me for a big softy and become a young delinquent." Giving her daughter a stern look, Ansuz had to do something that she never thought necessary. "So, regardless of your physical appearance, I hope you remain mindful of your actual age and act accordingly."

"What are you even talking about?" asked the totally baffled goddess of the future, as she have her mother a blank stare.

To say that Ansuz wasn't looking forward for this conversation would've been the understatement of the century, yet as some point the teal haired goddess knew that it was a matter that had to be addressed, before it was too late. "Skuld dear… This thingamajig you've made… What is it called again?"

"Time Accelerator Mk. III."

"Yes. That device only modifies your outwards appearance so that you look like an adult. However, an adult you're not," said Ansuz as she narrowed her eyes dangerously at her daughter. She knew all too well why Skuld made that device in the first place, and perhaps the biggest reason why took her daughter's training so seriously was to ensure that she fully understood how ill prepared she was to launch a rescue attempt on her own. 'The last thing I need is to lose yet another child to them. It's already hard enough as it is… Don't make it more difficult for me, Skuld. Please.'

"Oh, for goodness sake, mom! I'm not using the damn thing to fuck around!" blurted the deceptively old goddess, before she realized her folly.

" _Skuld?! Where did you pick that language, young lady?!_ " Despite her shock at hearing her daughter talk like she used to back in her Valkyrie days, Ansuz was kind of relieved that deep down, her daughter was still immature enough to assume that she talking about something relatively harmless. At least compared to the much greater risk of trying to save her sisters; no matter how much Ansuz wanted them back, too.

"Uh… does it matter? I mean… come on! A lot of kids talk like that, these days!" Taking a step back, the panicking Norn knew that she was likely grounded for the next week or so, but the skeptical look in her mother's face confused her. 'Why isn't she blowing a gasket already? Be-... sis… would've totally freaked out. Yes… totally...'

'Everyone has a breaking point, and she's been under a lot of stress as of late.' Letting out a sigh, Ansuz slapped her daughter's shoulders, much to the latter's confusion. "As long as you don't make everyone think you're a little punk, I don't mind."

"Are you sure feeling okay, mom?"

"Yes, dear. Now, how about we both go and have some ice cream?" asked Ansuz, in an attempt to reassure her daughter that everything was fine. "I'm buying, of course!"

"Eh? Sure thing mom!" However as soon as she started to head towards her favorite shop in Asgard, Skuld noticed the pointed look she was receiving from her mother. "Something's wrong?"

"No, I'm just curious as to why you're still in this form? Are you perhaps... stress testing the batteries of your device?"

"Nah, I've done that yesterday, and today's performance is quite phenomenal too. I can now stay an adult for eight whole hours before I need to recharge it," said Skuld with a proud smile. "The only reason I'm staying like this, is that whenever I drop by as an adult… I tend to get a bigger serving."

"But… the servings have nothing to do with your age. Or appearance, but…" Coming to an abrupt halt when she finally caught up, Ansuz simply turned around and marched off in the same direction Skuld was initially heading to. And while she refused to make any further comments, just the sight of battleaxe she summoned prior to her departure was more than enough for Skuld to realize that she may had condemned someone to a terrible fate.

" _Wait, mother! Come back!_ "

XXX

 _Niflheim_

In sharp contrast to the sheer space available for the demonic capital to expand horizontally across the landscape, the local population favored a much more vertical layout to their buzzing metropolis. Unlike the human cities where such a decision was taken due to practical purposes, demons primarily enjoyed the idea of layering private property based on the social status of their owners. It was the easiest way for the powerful and high ranking members of their society to display their influence to the less privileged citizens, along with the few other species that were deemed useful enough to earn the right of citizenship; even if they weren't actual demons in nature.

Because of this design principle, the whole city was layered in three distinct areas: the Low Levels, the Midsection and the Skyline. Most demons with a class two license and below, typically resided in the Midsection of the city, although they all had to commute to the segment above where the majority of the government buildings as well as shops and other businesses were located. On the other hand, anyone with a first class license could permanently live in a luxurious apartment in the Skyline, while the most successful amongst them even had the option of purchasing a building of their own. In many cases, complete with shops to allow lower ranking demons to rent, allowing them to act as their landlords and in the process consolidate a sense of social hierarchy beyond their license type.

Few of those who lived in the Low Levels were deemed suitable to move to the upper sections and even then, it was only to perform tasks that were either undesirable or simply hazardous for the general population of Niflheim. Still, it wasn't particularly unheard for demons from the above levels to descend to the least desirable area of their city, considering that despite the mostly subterranean and dreary environment, this was in certain cases a land of opportunity.

Far from the highly regulated parts of the city, where every little aspect of demonic life was dictated by a fairly rigid and often obfuscating legal system with more laws to sink a ship with; down here, the demonic code was the only thing to worry about. And while this was still fairly restrictive, as it codified the vast majority of demonic tradition and code of conduct, it still allowed a lot more freedom for demons of all classes, as well as the vast majority of the less fortunate species to interact with each other as equals. Or the closest thing to actual equality, since those of higher rank still enjoyed a lot privileges, but at the very least they didn't necessarily piss everyone off by shamelessly displaying their affluence and power.

As such, everything that wasn't in direct conflict with the demonic code was permitted in the Low Levels. Valuables as well as services that would've otherwise declared illegal in the above sections were perfectly acceptable in this place and without any repercussions from the authorities, as long as the code wasn't broken. Control was extremely important to demonic society and while they found such a less regulated area as a necessary buffer zone to allow everyone feel less oppressed by the otherwise strict rules they had to follow in the more glamorous areas of the city, this was far from a lawless place. Order was maintained by means often seen as unnecessary -if not downright brutal- since the whole point was to allow opportunities, instead of restricting them by making everyone think twice before entering this otherwise depressive catacomb.

And one of the few things one could enjoy here, was gambling. Although casinos did exist above ground, they were often seen as too rigged for anyone to waste their precious income in what was a painfully obvious sham. Up there, the whole point was to allow the rich and powerful to enjoy seeing the less privileged lose their fortunes in a ' _pay to win_ ' situation, with themselves buying off the means to win every game they participated in. There were even stories that the only reason why those places even remained in business was that their owners more or less forced their subordinates or even tenants to partake in socializing events they organized. Which… in reality were simply excuses to rob them blind, or at the very least make them realize just where their place really was: beneath them.

However, in the Low Levels, it was paradoxically much more likely for the average demon to win any kind of game, and as a result, the vast majority of the wannabe gamblers chose to risk their chances here. Still, prestige was in some ways important, as similar businesses fiercely competed against each other for customers, or rather… more affluent customers, who were willing to bet a lot more than the rest. From rarely heard games to even exotic sideshows, many different methods were used by the competing businesses in hopes to attract everyone's attention. And as far as uniqueness was concerned, the newest addition to the Low Level's gambling scene easily won the competition.

Aside from the rather unlikely choice of a name, _Divine Luck_ was an establishment like no other, not only in the Low Levels, but in the entire demonic capital. After all, its main theme was something so unusual, that many demons merely visited the place for the sake of seeing what very few of them were allowed to; a slice of Asgard brought down to Niflheim. Everything inside the casino was meant to replicate the architectural style of the celestials, down to the tiniest detail imaginable. Even to point where they had to build an underground, indoors garden, just to match the surrounding area of a celestial structure.

Such was the attention to detail, that even the menus of both the cafe and the restaurant that were included into the main building, contained foods and drinks normally found in Asgard. Of course, it was a serious pain in the neck to get the right ingredients here in Niflheim, but such attention to detail eventually paid off, as many demons gradually became curious about this unusual establishment. Only the highest ranking members of their society had a chance to go on a business trip to the celestial capital, and as such, curiosity lead a lot of them to the doorstep of one of the least likely places one could find in Niflheim, or any of its client realms. Even the demonesses and earth spirits who worked here were actually dressed in the same outfits that the celestials preferred, which added an additional touch of realism to the whole experience. To the point where some of the visitors saw this place more as a tourist attraction than a gambling den.

However, despite its current success, back when the casino's owner came up with this idea to attract everyone's attention, her proposal was met with skepticism, if not downright ridicule. Many openly laughed at the half demoness who came up with this ludicrous idea, claiming that her homesickness was getting the better of her and strongly advised her boss to simply dismiss her proposal, as it was clearly a huge waste of time and resources. After all, such a building was significantly more expensive to construct, and the operational costs necessitated by the need to serve celestial recipes, instead of the much cheaper local cuisine were significant flaws. Especially when the competitive businesses simply resolved the problem by making a nice stage with a couple of metal poles and then hire strip dancers to attract everyone's attention.

' _What good is it for me to follow everyone else's example? Why try to force my way into an oversaturated market, when I can create a new one? Something that no other demon ever attempted before? Have you ever heard the word innovation, before? Because if you do… then go tell you mommies that humping a metal pole is so outdated.'_

Although the Norn eventually won the argument, it wasn't without a significant cost in terms of her acceptance by the demonic elite. Even after the Daimakaicho reluctantly accepted Urd's proposal, there were more than enough members of the demonic council who opposed the 'celestial tart' as they still called her, despite the red marking she sported on her face these days. Yet few of them knew the perils of messing around with the deceptively insecure hybrid. Especially after she ended up ridiculing most of her critics by running the most profitable business in the entire Low Levels, to the point that it raised more than enough eyebrows at how such a thing was possible within such a short period of time.

'Cry as much as you want. Your tears are… _delicious._ '

Smirking as she strode along the carefully laid stonework of the main pathway that run across all the way from the entrance to the inner part of the casino where most of the games were located, Urd paused for a moment to check the cafe on her left hand side and the restaurant opposite of it. Build as if they were outside in open space, those two shops attempted to further enhance the illusion that this whole place wasn't just a single business, but a tiny snapshot of what life in Asgard was like. And considering that it was designed by one who spent most of her life there, the illusion was quite successful; yet… only to the eyes of the demons. Even though her place was packed with customers, as usual, Urd couldn't help but feel that there was a tiny spec of truth in her critics' baleful words. She was indeed homesick.

There were so many things she missed from her previous life, that she simply tried not to think too much about it. Doing so only made her feel more heartbroken, and the last thing she needed right now was to lose the will to keep going. This was a war of attrition after all, but on a psychological level; where she was most vulnerable. One of Urd's biggest desires was to go back to her sisters, and while Skuld was out of question… Belldandy was a totally different matter altogether. She was living up in the Skyline where the contract agency of Niflheim was located and the place Urd _willingly_ left in hopes of making a fortune down here.

And it's not that she didn't have other options. All she needed was to close this business and go up there to get one of the many offered careers that were readily available for her. That her most gracious hosts wanted her to take in the first place, and even used her sister as bait to make her comply and play the role of the willing participant in their little games of demonic politics. Yet if there was one aspect of Urd's character that stood out more than the rest, that would be her obstinacy.

Time after time, she would greet her most generous hosts with a smile on her face and immediately comment on how profitable her business was. To anyone with an iota of intelligence, that was an obvious way of declining any counter offers for a better job, one that would've put Urd into their home turf. For the vast majority of the demonic elite, the Low Levels was as unimportant as the town's junkyard was to mortals. So, few of them had any serious interest to maintain a personal presence and therefore influence down here. Anyone important enough in Niflheim belonged to the Skyline, or if they were in the mood of lowering themselves to the level of common plebeians, the Middle Section. And that proved to be the only way for Urd to have some level of freedom in this literally god forsaken place.

Unfortunately, today was one of those times when her hosts would get into the trouble to come all the way down here to bribe her with the same offers; as if they worked in the past. Although, Urd was confident that at some point of time they expected her to break. If all that was needed was a simple _yes_ and then go back to a parody of normalcy, then the temptation of uttering that single word was too hard to ignore.

In a case of epic irony, one of the main reasons she remained adamant in her stance was thanks to the very people who attempted to persuade her otherwise. Although she did have her favorites when it came to dealing with them, and the one who was coming her way, wasn't the one she expected, nor wanted for that matter.

'And I thought this was going to be a good day… But _no!_... It just _had_ to be _him!_ '

Deeply regretting her decision to wear something as stylish as her goddess robes for the occasion, Urd cursed under her breath to calm her nerves, before she put a fake smile on her face and walked towards her unwanted visitor. "Sokkmimir-sama! I wasn't expecting you, today!"

"My, you look as lovely as ever, dear Urd." Almost ignoring the tiny hint of displeasure in the Norn's voice, the apparently joyous demon approached Urd with a toothy grin plastered on his face. For anyone familiar with the General Secretary of the Demonic Council, such a courteous display would've almost look out of character, and to a certain degree creepy, as he was mostly known for his rather unpleasant and manipulative nature. "I'm terribly sorry for this last minute change in today's agenda, but you must understand that the Daimakaicho is terribly busy today, and therefore couldn't come here in person."

"Is that so?" said Urd, mostly in an attempt to change the topic. With the green haired demon being an avid politician, Urd hoped that any mention of their boss' agenda would've made him go on and on about how useful of an asset to the Daimakaicho he was, and hopefully allow her to simply nod and spare herself the trouble to hold a conversation with him. Sadly, such a simple approach didn't work on someone as crafty as Sokkmimir, who merely avoided to take the bait.

"Yes, yes… although I don't want to bore you with such topics, dear." Moving next to Urd, the smiling demon wrapped an arm around the Norn's waist in an overly friendly, if not flirty fashion. "I'm actually here to congratulate you on a job well done. From what we hear, this business of yours is quite profitable. Much more than anyone would've expected!"

"Yes, I suppose that's kind of true." Urd's eyes followed the councilor's gaze as he marveled the sight of her voluptuous body that was exceptionally highlighted by the extremely low cut purple dress she was wearing. Clinging onto her body like a second skin, it was one of her most famous outfits since she used it as her official goddess robes on all kinds of formal and even informal occasions. However, when she felt an almost imperceptible tug from the direction of the spot where the councilor's hand rested on her hips, Urd took a deep breath. It did wonders calm herself down and avoid socking him across the face, like the filthy pervert he was, only to make matters worse for her, by assaulting a high ranking member of the council. So, she desperately tried to find something else to preoccupy her mind with, before she ripped his arm from the socket. 'Let's see… the trees look nice today. My new fertilizer is doing wonders for the flowers… I need to buy a dress like the ones Belldandy loved. Tomorrow even.'

Finally taking the hint when he saw the casino's chief security officer stare him behind her copper tinted visor, Sokkmimir let go of Urd's dress, allowing the Norn to casually fix the wardrobe malfunction he had so carefully incited. "How about we go and have a nice cup of tea over at your cafe? I've got some news for you."

"By all means," said Urd as she immediately led him towards an empty table, only to briefly pause and share a glance with her blue haired bodyguard, who merely nodded and silently tailed them from a distance. "What is this all about?"

"As I've already mentioned, your success is quite noticeable, dear Urd. There are more than enough demons praising the quality and above all, the exclusive feel of your services. Unfortunately, many of them still feel a bit skeptical about your decision to locate this wonderful place… _down here_ , which is a place much more suited for a common strip club. What I'm suggesting is that a relocation of your casino to the Skyline could significantly boost your profits."

"Hm…" Taking a moment to wordlessly thanks her waitress for delivering them their beverages, Urd paused for a while, just for the sake of making him think that she was considering his proposition. "It's far too expensive to move my business in the Skyline. Besides, there's too much competition for what I'm offering, up there. Down here… that's a totally different story."

"I beg to differ. Although there are more than enough casinos in the Skyline, none of them is a snapshot of Asgardian lifestyle. So, I still think that you're going to have an exclusive service, unlike anyone else's," argued the green haired demon as he sipped from his tea. "Although I must admit that it can be indeed pretty expensive to rebuild your business up there, so, I'm willing to provide you with everything you may need during the relocation."

"Thank you very much, Sokkmimir-sama, but I'll have to consider all options, before I make any final decisions." The tone on her voice was calm, yet forceful enough to dissuade him from arguing any further. She knew all too well that generosity had nothing to do with his proposal, as demons weren't particularly known for offering anything without a form of payment. And it was more than obvious what he probably expected of her, should she made the terrible mistake of becoming his employee; and quite likely mistress. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that should be all for today," said Sokkmimir as he got up from his chair. "I'm terribly sorry for being in such a rush, but I've got a very important meeting I need to attend to, and I cannot afford being late. See you another time, dear Urd."

"Of course." Urd patiently waited with a smile plastered on her face until her visitor walked out of the casino, and only then did she raise her hand, with the middle finger proudly extended. "Sod off, you son of bitch!"

"Quite tenacious, isn't he?" Approaching the fuming Norn, the blue haired demoness crossed her arms in a seemingly relaxed fashion; yet for anyone who knew her as well as Urd did, appearances could be quite deceiving.

"He just wants his trophy wife, Lind. Plus, the fact that we're effectively prisoners only makes him think he can act like this and get away with it." Urd let a frustrated sigh and watched the former Valkyrie relax her stance, which most people found it quite difficult to discern. But after living together with her for the last couple of years, Urd began to read her body language for the tiny hints that reflected her state of mind and the way she currently relaxed her shoulders meant that she was genuinely at ease.

The biggest hindrance though, was the almost ever present visor that the warrior wore that totally obscured her eyes behind the copper tinted crystal surface. Acting like a one way mirror, it made it difficult for anyone to read her facial expression, especially since the eyes were according to some, the window to one's soul. Lind's official explanation for this accessory was that it allowed her to keep an eye on the casino's patrons without them feeling her gaze. Yet, Urd knew that this was merely a convenient excuse meant to conceal the actual reason behind this measure. Like all other demonesses, whenever she became agitated, Lind's eyes had the tendency to glow in a crimson light and their irises turned into cat-like slits; a fact that greatly disturbed the former Valkyrie.

"You've got a new combat uniform," observed Urd after a while, trying to shift the topic from their disrespectful visitor to something a tad more pleasant.

Unlike the rest of Urd's employees, Lind vehemently refused to wear a replica of her original battle uniform. Aside from the fact that it was a civilian grade imitation of the genuine article she wore for most of her life, those replicas also lacked the most important element of them all; they were essentially _costumes_ , instead of genuine uniforms. And the last thing she wanted at this point of time, was to cosplay as a Valkyrie, since she no longer was one, let alone a goddess at all.

"Yes, I got it earlier today. My previous one got torn during training, so, I've ordered a replacement." There was a ghost of a smile, as Lind actually enjoyed fighting almost as much, if not more than she used to, and that made anything associated with it equally enjoyable. While most demonesses didn't pay far too much attention at selecting a battle uniform for themselves, Lind spent hours making sure that she got the right stuff. And her current uniform was by far the most impressive one she bought as a demoness.

Made out of a glossy purple fabric, it was the most durable civilian class outfit she could get her hands on, and for Lind that was all that counted. Sure, there were some stylistic options that the warrior wasn't too certain about, but the high heeled combat boots weren't particularly difficult to get accustomed to, and if properly used, they even counted as a potential weapon. The only thing that she had no idea what to about was the very feature that, Urd obviously came to notice.

"Lind… have you seen the-"

"Yes, I'm aware of the diamond shaped cutout on the back," said Lind with a groan, as she dreaded that question. "It's very similar to the one in my Valkyrie fatigues, and much smaller too. If only they placed it a bit higher…" Letting out an exasperated sigh, the warrior tried to ignore the Norn's pointed gaze at her posterior, right above where the aforementioned opening was located. "According to the saleswoman, buttocks cleavage is kind of the new craze these days."

'Great… now _I_ look like a total prude with my battle uniform.' Instead of a comment, Urd merely nodded at her and then averted her gaze to the next most impressive feature on her. "You're wearing lipstick."

"It came as a gift with the uniform, so I decided to try it," said Lind with a slight smile as she carefully traced her red lips with her gloved fingers. And then blurted out the most unbelievable of things. "Does it look nice on me?"

Blinking hard as she had never expected the warrior to care about her appearance, it took Urd a couple of seconds to come up with a proper response. "Actually… it does. The shade might be a bit too strong for your skin's complexion, but you can try some of my lipsticks if you want. I think that might make you look even better."

"In that case, I'll take your offer," said Lind with a nod, at which point Urd began to worry. "We can try some makeup during your training session."

 _That_ made the Norn snap out of her reverie and brought her back to harsh reality. "No… no more getting beaten while listening to Enka…"

"It's for your own good to conquer your weakness, or someone will eventually find out about it and use accordingly." Lind's eyebrows furrowed together as her tone became darker. "With demons like that guy around, all it takes is for one of them to slap some earphones on you, and then… both use and abuse you to their personal enjoyment."

Urd visibly winced at the harshness of Lind's words, especially as she apparently showed no emotion while addressing her. But, she also knew that it wasn't malice that motivated her bodyguard to make sure that she was capable of defending herself, should the need arise. Already she could stay awake even when she listened to Enka, and while it was still hard for her to ignore the drowsiness that music style incited, she wasn't immediately incapacitated by it. Additionally, Urd was learning on how to properly fight, since most of her self taught combat spells were essentially too inefficient and only suitable for low intensity fights. "Yeah, yeah… I get it. But I still don't like it."

"I wouldn't expect you to, unless you're secretly a masochist," said Lind with a rare grin, but for Urd that was a challenge too hard to ignore.

"Personally speaking, I'm more of a sadist, but if that's really your thing, I could make an exception," said Urd with a low purr that she didn't get to use too often these days. "Mistress."

"Don't get smart with me, just because you're officially my boss!" snapped Lind at the grinning Norn, poking her nose with her gloved finger. "You may be my most promising student so far, but that attitude of yours need some much needed readjustments!"

"Oh, mistress! Don't go too hard on poor me!" said Urd as she cupped her cheeks in mock embarrassment. "I'm still new at this!"

Stepping right in front of the half demoness, Lind was so close that their noses were almost touching, which also made it much easier for Urd to see the glowing red orbs behind the warrior's visor. " _Cut the crap soldier, or it's another round of katas for today's training regime!_ "

"Yes, ma'am!" said Urd as she snapped a rather sloppy salute at the warrior, and then watched her turn around and head back to the casino's almost trembling security staff. Even though she had to pause once and clench her fists when she heard Urd's wolf whistle.

'Lipstick, huh… Not bad, Lind. Not bad at all.'

XXX

 _The Daimakaicho's throne room_

Situated above the Pit, the very place most others would've run away from, the progenitor and first ruler of demonkind chose to built his throne room as an ultimate testament of power and defiance. Regardless of its impracticality that made it more suitable for display than comfort, the Daimakaicho's throne room was designed to remind everyone of the core ideals of the demonic society: power and frugality.

There was very little in terms of floorspace to fill the room with useless decorations, and the updrafts from below often carried the almost inaudible whispers of the terrible beast that slept deep beneath the surface of the demonic capital: the corpse eater and the Tree's nemesis; Nidhogg. The very same creature that Yggdrasil kept imprisoned since the times before the known world came to be, and perhaps one of the most terrifying being known, aside from the Tree itself. Such was its power and psychological effect that the denizens of the demonic capital named their massive supercomputer after it, in a very similar fashion to their counterparts who gave the Tree's name to their own mainframe.

For the vast majority of the immortals living here, those were merely bedtime stories to convince their children go to sleep, yet for the very few who passed the massive doors and into the terrible domain where Nidhogg's presence could still be felt, it was hard even for the bravest to not feel humbled in the mighty beast's presence. And to that extent, the person sitting on the throne suspended in the middle of this room, just had to earn the right to be called the great leader of demonkind; or in short, the Daimakaicho.

Yet to some, there was another symbolic meaning behind the decision to arrange this room in such a fashion. It was to remind the holder of that prestigious title not only of the expectations they had to meet, but also how far they could fall from grace, should they disappoint those who entrusted them with that position. After all, the trip to the bottom of the Pit was a fate no demon wished upon themselves, and sometimes not even upon their enemies.

So, it was no surprise that despite her poise and confidence, the demoness who walked towards the throne, _her throne_ , sometimes felt that this was her own undoing. She had been here countless times with her predecessor and although it was her who possessed that prestigious title, it all felt like a charade.

Darting from side to side, her blue eyes studied the holograms of her highest ranking subordinates and governors of the client realms under her rule. Although they were normally supposed to be physically present for this meeting, the current situation was still volatile enough that necessitated them to attend from afar. All except for one, who also happened to be the newest appointed member of her Inner Circle and representative of the very capital of the demon world. A position that allowed the governor of Niflheim to stand above his three other colleagues and act as the right hand and deputy of the Daimakaicho herself; which was also the position she once possessed in the not so distant past.

Waiting for her to sit upon her throne, the rest of her subordinates did the same and after two long years, the first meeting between the Inner Circle was underway.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today." It was hard to say that with a straight face, especially when some among the audience raised their eyebrows in a clearly sarcastic fashion, given that they weren't actually present in the room. "Before we start with today's agenda, I must introduce you to the newest member of the Inner Circle and one most of you are undoubtedly familiar with," said the Daimakaicho as she extended her hand towards the direction of her deputy. "The position of my second in command is now officially assigned to a seasoned and highly experienced member of the demonic council, Sokkmimir."

Standing up from his hovering chair, in a very similar fashion he used to during the meetings of the capital's council, Sokkmimir was almost expecting the applause of his new colleagues. Only to find out that there were no friends within the Circle, as none of the attendants even did as much as nod in his direction. After an awkward pause, the green haired demon simply sat on his chair and addressed the only one here who probably wasn't openly hostile towards him. "Thank you, my lady. I offer you my assurance that I'll perform the duties of this important position with the utmost efficiency and prove myself worthy of your trust."

"I do hope so. But only time will tell," offered the Daimakaicho, while ignoring the two holograms further away from her; one of which was yawning in a ladylike fashion, while the other simply rolled his eyes. Only one of her subordinates remained relatively polite, albeit in what was likely silent contempt, and for those who knew the ruler of Jotunheim that wasn't necessarily a good sign.

Seated on her left was Skrymir, the governor of the second most populated realm under her command and largest military outpost due to it proximity to the celestial worlds. Yet the red haired demon was as cold as the frigid land of the ice demons he commanded, and probably the most significant threat to her authority, as he doubled as the head of her Intelligence Sector.

An organization that she wasn't entirely sure she controlled anymore, especially after what transpired a few years ago, with its operatives working in the dark to who knows what ends. "You have something to comment about, Skrymir? I cannot help but notice the inquisitive look on your face."

"Yes, although I believe it's the same thing that everyone else in the room -save for one- has in their minds," said Skrymir as briefly stared over at Sokkmimir, before shifting his gaze back to his boss. "Why are we still barred from entering Niflheim? I understand that in the aftermath of your… ascend to power, there was some significant instability. But after two entire years, my citizens are getting restless. Closing our borders is a highly controversial policy to prevent a coup… Hagall-sama."

"Worse, this very policy had torn families apart, with some members trapped on different realm than the rest of their loved ones," said the only other demoness attending the meeting, from her position besides Skrymir. Grid, the fair skinned ruler of the nocturnal realm of Svartalfheim, was one of the oldest amongst them, and probably the most experienced in demonic affairs than anyone else in the room. So, to have someone like that, voice her concerns was as bad of a sign that something was wrong as it go. "We've heard more than enough promises to raise this unfair measure, and yet there's no change in that policy. The borders remain closed and my people are also getting upset."

"I reassure you that it's not my desire to burden my loyal subjects with such a measure, but their safety stands higher on my list than her comfort," said Hagall in an attempt to regain control of the situation, before she ended up getting scolded by those who were supposed to be her subordinates. However, the snort she heard from her right, caused her to look over Sokkmimir and to the last of her subordinates who had remained otherwise silent so far. "Can you explain me what you find so amusing, Surt?"

Chuckling mirthlessly, the bronze skinned governor of the fiery realm of Muspelheim, and homeworld of the previous Daimakaicho, simply raised an eyebrow at his current leader. "How about… everything? If you think you're dissuading the rest of us to… kick your otherwise lovely posterior off that throne, then I'm afraid you're doing a very bad job at that."

"How dare you address Hagall-sama in such a vile manner!" Standing up from his seat, Sokkmimir pointed at the dark haired ruler of Muspelheim with a shaking hand as he could barely contain his rage. "Just because you were Hild-sama's favorite and used that to get away with everything, that doesn't mean we're going to tolerate your insufferable personality for any longer. Be respectful to those above you, or we'll show you who's in charge here!"

"Really now…new guy? I know that you're trying to impress her, but we all know each other from before," said Surt with a groan. "So, it's not like we have to be so damn formal and polite to each other, especially when I'm the least of her problems. Our realms are almost bankrupt, since she killed the market in a single day, and to rub salt to the wound, we're now barred from visiting the capital, as well as any of the other realms. Everyone and their dogs wants a coup, and I'm running out of excuses to convince them otherwise. So… any bright ideas?"

"That should be enough." Stopping her deputy from replying, and in the process start an argument that would've completely derail the whole meeting, Hagall took a deep breath before addressing the most temperamental of her direct subordinates. "The market is slowly recovering, and it's only a matter of time before we start making profit again. I fear that my early attempt of kickstarting our economy didn't have the desired effect, but I do have a contingency plan that will provide us with some temporary relief. In addition, to further address there will be a gradual lift of the stability measures, by offering visas to anyone with registered family members on a different realm. Eventually, everyone will be free to move across our realms as they used to, but not before I'm sure that it won't lead to a civil war."

"With all due respect, Hagall-sama… but we've all heard similar promises before," said Skrymir after a pause, since no one else wished to offer a reply. "What we need is proof, or there's no point of discussing this topic any further."

"And you will. I've already come up with a plan to regain our market share, and all I need is to put it in motion," said Hagall in the most confident fashion she could muster. "After all it's about time I use my trump cards to take the market by storm."

"Please, Hagall-sama, no more storms," said Grid, who like the majority of her colleagues wasn't terribly pleased by the prospect of another 'miracle solution' like the one that almost bankrupt them. "The last one was already…"

"A shitstorm…" muttered Surt while rubbing his temples, but before he could go further, Grid decided to stop him.

"A _tornado_ is what I had in mind, actually." Clearing her throat as she gave the lord of Muspelheim a warning look, Grid turned back to her leader. "At any rate, I highly recommend you to revise any plans that might cause… undesirable side effects."

"Rest assured that this time my method of generating income is vastly different than wish granting on a massive scale," said Hagall as her lips slowly curled up in a grin. "With only two demonesses and no wishes involved, I can still generate enough income to compensate this fiscal year's losses."

The Daimakaicho's announcement was met with great skepticism, as it sounded far too good to be true, and even Sokkmimir who was trying his best to make a good impression to his leader found it somewhat unrealistic.

"Forgive me, my lady, but… how is that even possible?"

"It's quite simple really," said Hagall as her grin became wider. "Mass entertainment."

XXX

By the time Belldandy arrived outside of Peorth's apartment, the Norn of the present was already second guessing the decision to move in with her. Even as a goddess, Peorth was known for being somewhat of an unusual -if not eccentric- deity, and Belldandy could only speculate how much her personality changed due to her new nature.

Of course, if she wanted to be absolutely fair with her, Peorth never wished to become a demoness; which also applied to the rest. All four of them had attempted to stop Hagall's rise to power after she successfully sealed Hild and then took her position, but their hastily put together plan and the sheer lack of support sealed their fate.

Stripped of their angels and with their energy drained, the once goddesses were forcefully injected with demonic energy, that much to everyone's surprise, their bodies apparently managed to sustain and adapt to it. Yet the biggest question was just how far their minds would also adapt to their new situation. Now _that_ was something no one could possibly know for sure, not even the former goddesses themselves.

"Wait a moment, I'm coming!"

Listening to Peorth's rushed footsteps from within the apartment, Belldandy picked up the small bag that contained her few belongings and tried to smile, wishing for the best.

"Hi there!" opening the door with a much brighter smile on her face, Peorth greeted the fellow brunette in a warm and friendly manner that actually made Belldandy feel welcome. Perhaps for the first time ever since she arrived in Niflheim. "Don't just stand there like a statue, come inside!"

"Thank you very much for taking me in," said Belldandy with a small bow as she stepped inside the apartment and immediately surveyed her surroundings. There was nothing too bizarre or eccentric about the place, except the large number of photo frames with all kinds of flower gardens depicted on them. Other than that, the furnishing was somewhat typical for a first class demoness, which probably meant that Peorth didn't quite spend enough time decorating her house. Although that too was to be expected, as in reality it was nothing more than a comfortable prison.

"Don't be silly! It's great to have some company in this place. To be honest, an apartment isn't exactly what suits my needs, since I cannot have a garden in here, so, most if it kind of… bare I'm afraid. Thankfully, it's big enough for the two of us, and in a fairly good condition too," said Peorth as she decided to give her new housemate a tour.

However, the most impressive thing for Belldandy to witness wasn't exactly the apartment itself, but Peorth, or rather… her choice of attire. While she wore an extremely revealing bikini as a casual outfit on a daily basis, right now the demoness was actually wearing something considerably more tame. A dark brown sweater and a pair or red pants with floral patterns printed on them wasn't exactly what Belldandy expected of the otherwise daring demoness, and no matter how much she didn't want to make a comment about it, her intense gaze caught Peorth's attention.

"Something's wrong, Belldandy?"

"Um… well…"

Noticing Belldandy's gaze fall upon her clothes, Peorth immediately connected the dots and offered her a smile. "Oh, you're wondering why I'm wearing this, instead of my regular clothes?"

"Yes. Anyone would, actually."

"Well, I suppose that given my reputation, most assume that I can't wear something a bit more… conservative. However, as you can see, that's clearly not the case." Pausing for a moment, Peorth knew what was likely coming next and decided to spare Belldandy from having to ask the most obvious of questions. "There are many reasons why I prefer wearing something a bit out of the ordinary. Even back then, it was nice to avoid following some millennia old stereotype, especially when it comes to the typical expectations of how a first class goddess should act. But the best thing was that in a strange way... it made me truly unique. Not many goddesses would dress like that, and that made me stood out from the rest. Even if… it wasn't always for the right reasons. Although, I cannot say that I was terribly worried about that, either."

"I see. Although…" Biting her lower lip, Belldandy was almost scared to touch the subject, yet in the end, her curiosity just got the better of her. "We're not exactly goddesses anymore."

"Oh? Are we demonesses, then?" asked Peorth with a raised eyebrow. "If we want to be really technical about it, then I suppose the answer would be… yes. But, I'm still the same person and I won't act differently just to fit into Niflheim's society. Sure, my choice of clothing can be seen as blatant display of exhibitionism, and maybe to a certain degree it is. However, I refuse to change my habits or my personality, and I think that the same is true about you, too, Belldandy."

"You're quite correct," admitted the Norn in a soft voice, just above a whisper. "I mostly try to live my life as a goddess, even though it's sometimes pretty hard to do under these circumstances. My temper is the biggest problem as I often find myself to be somewhat irritable, but hopefully now that I've got someone to talk to, my mood swings and paranoia will subside."

"That's definitely true, Belldandy! Demoness or not, social interaction is as important to you as it is for a goddess," said Peorth before she walked towards her cupboard and then reached behind it. 'You're really missing your sisters, but for the time being, let's hope that this will do the trick.' With some effort, she managed to find the thick envelope she had hidden, just in case her apartment was searched, and then offered it to the confused Norn. "Here, this is the little surprise I've mentioned before. I know it's hardly enough to substitute for the real thing, but… it's still better from nothing at all."

"Thank you?..." Raising an eyebrow, Belldandy opened the envelope and began to shift through its contents, and then her eyes went wide. Inside were a few photos of her sisters -both of them- and even a couple of handwritten notes that described various incidents from their daily lives. "H-How?... W-Where did… t-those came… from?"

"I have some contacts," said Peorth after carefully choosing her words. "So, I thought it was about time I use them for-"

Catching Peorth by surprise when she pulled her in a tight embrace, Belldandy was genuinely happy for the first time in the last few years. " _Thank you! Thank you so much!_ "

"Hey, come on… It's not that big of a deal," said the slightly blushing Peorth, as she wasn't prepared for the Norn's emotional outburst. Gingerly returning Belldandy's embrace with a tiny hug, Peorth could already feel her own mood improve by the sheer magnitude of her friend's enthusiasm. "Now, while I'm preparing dinner, why don't you go ahead and read them?"

"Yes! I'll do that right away!" said Belldandy as she rushed towards the guest room, that was going to become hers from now on. Almost jumping on the bed, the Norn emptied the envelope's contents on the mattress and began shift through them, almost with the same excitement as a kid unwrapping a brand new toy.

However, aside from Urd and Skuld's notes, she found a letter from both her parents, and then something that made her pause and frown a bit. It was the most unexpected of things, given that it was a series of printouts from a client profile that clearly belonged to her old wish granting agency. And the more she went through them, the more she began to recognize the details of the person who was her last assignment as an employee of the Goddess Relief Office. One who was meant to have a wish granted from her, only for the demonic coup to mess everything up by its poor timing.

'Huh? That's… Mr… Morisato's… profile? Wait… who knew about him? Did mother or father added those? Strange… Although, let's not worry about that and find out what he was up to during those two years.'


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

It was already well past Belldandy's bedtime, yet the Norn found it too difficult to go to sleep. Her eyes were glued at the data printouts of Keiichi's profile, absorbing every little piece of information about the mortal's life during the last two and a half years. But the hardest part was that she had no idea what to make of that information, or rather… how to feel about it. By the looks of it, Keiichi's case was still assigned to her wish granting account, as her relatives didn't want to remove her from her agency's employee list. And while that made her happy that she wasn't forgotten, it also meant that for all this time, Keiichi's wish was assigned to a goddess that simply wasn't there to answer his calls.

Even worse, thanks to her loathsome demonic power, there was a hard to ignore part of her mind that refused to feel sorry for him. Morisato Keiichi was _her_ client and she wouldn't willingly hand his case to another goddess, just because she a demoness at the moment. After spending months watching the mortal's daily life as part of the whole validation process, Belldandy couldn't help but feel somewhat protective, if not possessive of him. Of course, the original intention of such a practice was they wanted to make sure that their clients met the necessary standards of their agency and their application wasn't simply a glitch in the system. Which… was nothing new for Belldandy, as she was already seen countless of mortals go about their lives and even though she became eager to meet them and grant their wishes, she always moved on to the next case, the next client.

Not with _this one_ , though. If she had to be honest with herself, Belldandy spent too much time observing this particular mortal -far more than anyone else she watched in the past- and perhaps to the point where it could be seen in a somewhat negative light. There was always the risk of turning something as healthy as an innocent infatuation into obsession, and while Belldandy never actually thought that in the past, her current self was… troubled.

'Why am I happy that the poor soul hasn't gotten the wish he deserved? It's been more than a few years already! He's out of college and… he's still struggling to make a living for himself. A wish… A wish could've changed his whole life. So, why?'

Rolling to her back, Belldandy let out a sigh as she rested her head on her pillow, but refused to close her eyes. She didn't want to risk falling asleep with all those documents still scattered around her on the bed, but in all honesty, the Norn knew that it was unlikely to happen; not while she was so troubled by the shocking realization of how… selfish she was.

'Who knows how long it's going to take me to go back? It could take more years… decades even. And if no one takes over his wish… Keiichi's one hope to find happiness could be wasted. If only I could get his application in my current list…'

Sadly, Belldandy knew just how unlikely it was for the demonic mainframe to pick a man like Keiichi, and even more… assign _her_ to his case. It was a fantasy for sure, and probably one that she should've given up a long time ago, as she even tried to see if it was possible to observe him from her workstation. Not only did she fail to do that, but Belldandy began to worry that her inquiries may eventually catch her superiors' attention, and ultimately Hagall's. That was the last thing she needed right now, and yet in a strange twist of fate, just when she was about to give up, Peorth somehow managed to come up with those papers.

'Come to think of it… how did she do that? I mean… it's obvious that father and mother probably sent them, but how did they pass them through the security checks? Even more… there was a note from Urd, too! And she's in the Low Levels…not Asgard. Did she get all those from different sources?'

Getting up from her bed, Belldandy quickly gathered everything back into the envelope and then proceeded to stash that, behind one of her drawers. She did remember Peorth's claims of having some contacts here, but in her rush to read what was written in all those notes, Belldandy forgot to ask for details. After all, if anyone could pass messages from Asgard, then perhaps it was also possible for help to arrive too. Or at the very least, to find some way to let them escape.

Looking at her watch on her nightstand, Belldandy bit her lower lip, as it was already a couple of minutes past one o'clock in the morning, and the last thing she wanted was to wake Peorth up, right in the middle of the night. But at the same time, she knew that it was going to be impossible to focus on her job tomorrow… or rather… in a couple of hours, if she never got the chance to ask her.

Walking down the apartment's main hall, Belldandy approached the master bedroom that, Peorth claimed as her own, and prepared to knock the door. Still, the Norn knew that waking her housemate up in the middle of the night was probably the worst way to start their cohabitation, and as such, she paused right before her hand came into contact with the door. And that's when she noticed a faint glow coming from the wooden surface, as a series of runes became visible around what appeared to be a magic circle. It was a simplistic spell, yet the intended purpose took Belldandy by surprise: soundproofing.

Unlike some mortals who had the tendency to snore as they grew older, immortals only worried about making loud noises in the middle of the night under one, very specific scenario. Something that, Belldandy didn't even wish to consider and yet the proof was likely staring her back in the eyes.

'She couldn't be… No way…'

With a shaking hand, Belldandy reached to touch the simplistic seal and immediately felt Peorth's magic pulse through her fingers, which was further evidence that she was indeed the one who put this spell onto the door. And although it was designed to stop sound from escaping, it only contained it within the room, instead of canceling it.

Leaning forward, Belldandy placed her ear against the door's surface and tried to listen in to what was happening inside. Only to verify her suspicions, and then pull away so hastily that she almost tripped on the carpet. The Norn was clearly on the verge of a panic attack, not only due to the sheer embarrassment of what she managed to hear, but by her own dark thoughts of why Peorth participated in such acts. Under any other circumstances she would've merely assumed that it was the fellow wish granter's personality that lead her to seek some companionship, yet given their situation, Belldandy wasn't entirely convinced.

She could just burst into the room, given that aside from the soundproofing, there was no seal to prevent anyone from entering. Although, the same could be said about leaving, too. Trying to ignore her embarrassment, Belldandy approached the door once again and this time she attempted to gather as much hints as to what was transpiring inside. So far it was obvious that there was someone else in there with Peorth, but now she could discern that it must've been a guy. Although the most important thing was that… Peorth sounded as if she was in control of the situation; unless she was the best actress Belldandy had the chance of knowing.

'Not following a stereotype my… my… a-ass! You… saucy little minx!'

By the time Peorth reached her peak, Belldandy's face matched the color of her demonic markings, but still refused to leave before she found out what was going on here. Pressing herself harder against the door, Belldandy did her best to hear their voices now that they were done with their… recreational activities.

"Thanks, Kaun. I really needed that," said Peorth between shallow breaths as she tried to regain control of herself.

"Bad day?" asked the man -a demon most likely- as Belldandy could feel that she heard that name somewhere.

"You've got no idea…" sneered Peorth in much darker tone than she normally uses. "I was about to get my beauty sleep and then you send me that text message. Why are they sending you down there, anyway?"

"Hell if know. There are a lot of worthless snitches everywhere these days, and who knows what kind of excuse they found to reassign me to the Low Levels," said Kaun with a grunt.

"Hm… are you sure no one knows of your visits?" suggested Peorth as the most likely explanation.

"So, what? It's not exactly their problem who gets to sleep with you. I'd only have a problem if they caught me carrying a message, but I'm not stupid enough to bring those by myself. Still, we may have to do something about that. I don't want your roomie to freak out if she runs into any of my poor servants and they end up in your plate," said Kaun with a chuckle. "I know that they look like octopi, but that's no reason to turn them into lunch."

"Oh snap! I totally forgot about her!" said Peorth, letting out a long sigh. "I'll try to give you a copy of her schedule as soon as I can."

"You do that. In the meanwhile, I'll have to prepare to empty my own apartment, since I'm likely going to live down there." There was a clear hint of annoyance in the demon's voice, but then he stopped and the tone turned into a seemingly amused one. "But hey, I'll be working as a guard in a strip club! At least I'll get to watch the shows for free!"

Belldandy's frown turned into a wince when she heard something smack against… what must've been the demon's skull. Which was probably attributed to one the things Peorth loved to use even back she was a goddess; thorny vines.

" _Ow!_ What was _that_ for?"

"You make more jokes like _that_ , and I'll whip your sorry ass _so_ hard, you won't be able to sit for month!" said the irate demoness as she growled in a way that made Belldandy's hair stand up. " _Now out of my house, you lousy cheater!_ "

"Excuse me? You're not my wife, and even then… What happened to the whole ' _I'm not monogamous_ ' thingie?" asked Kaun, only for the thorny whip to smack against the floor with a loud crack. " _Wait! Let's talk about this!_ "

"Don't you get smart with me! That's something I did back when I was a goody goody goddess! I'm not longer into the whole _free hugs and kisses_ , mister. If I get a word you're screwing one of those floozies, you're having a date with my piranha plants! _Now, get out of here!_ "

"Fine, fine…"

Belldandy's senses went on an overdrive when she realized that she was going to get caught spying on Peorth's private life, and with the latter in such a foul mood, the Norn wanted to avoid that like the plague. Searching for a hideout, the brunette found a vase and immediately changed into a smaller, chibi form, and dived for it. Just in time too, as the door opened to reveal a grumbling demon who was still halfway naked, with the rest of his clothes being hastily rolled into a ball that he carried during his hasty retreat. The Norn ever so carefully poked her head out of the vase to get a better look at the demon, and for a moment she could've sworn that there was a hint of sadness in his red eyes. but then again, after all this, she had little sympathy for their kind. Yet for a moment, Peorth's words from earlier this day came to her mind.

 _No matter how different their mannerisms can be at times, they too are people just like everyone else back in Asgard._

However, when their visitor turned around, Belldandy froze on the spot, thinking that he may had noticed her presence. Only to find out that he was looking back at Peorth. "I've been reassured by my contact that he can still pass the messages to me, even while I'm down there. I don't know when -or if- I'll manage to come for another visit, but my servants _should_ be able to bring the messages."

"I see," said Peorth, as she started to calm down and then smiled. "At least she's gonna be happy to read about her family and even… her not so secret crush." A smile that soon turned into a grin.

' _He's not my crush!_ ' thought the Norn in denial as she was forced to bite her lip to refrain herself from answering her.

"So, one of your group has someone they left behind? Man, that sucks…"

"Uh… not quite," said Peorth as she suppressed a giggle, even though it was painfully obvious that she was amused. "It's a boy that was in Belldandy's list for a while, and she ended up watching his daily life whenever she had the time."

'How do _you_ know that?!' was Belldandy's only thought as the horrified demoness poked her head ever further out of her hideout.

"Um… not to sound rude, but…isn't that…" Trying his best to come up with something that wouldn't earn him another whip, Kaun finally ended up with the best way to express his thoughts. "You know… kinda… stalker-ish?"

'Stalker… what?!' At this point, Belldandy's tiny canines poked out of her teeth as she took a crunching bite of the vase's lip.

"Nah… I just think that he was just a cutie pie and she couldn't help herself stealing a glance every now and then. You know, Kaun… if I had a really cute client that met my fancy, I'd totally want to check on him too!" said Peorth with a giggle. And while that earned her a snort from Kaun, the same couldn't be said about Belldandy, who was starting to seethe in rage.

"Yeah… whatever…"

Sensing an opportunity to get him back for his previous joke, Peorth went even further, without knowing the perils of such decision. "You doubt me? I've actually stolen a glance on the photo that was attached to the printouts and… _my goodness!_ I'd _totally_ love to grant that cutie pie's wish! And as you _know_ , I've got the _best_ service in-"

' _You dare touch Keiichi and I'll-_ ' Belldandy was so mad that she completely forgot herself and ended up biting the vase _so_ hard that it eventually gave away with a resounding crack. Which proved to be more than enough to alert the others of her presence, and as they turned to look at the unexpected witness of their midnight tryst.

Staring each other for several long and excruciatingly awkward seconds, Peorth decided to end the deadlock and cleared her throat to get Belldandy's attention. "I know that this is far from the… ideal introduction but… Belldandy, this is Kaun, my… um…"

"Boyfriend?" suggested the aforementioned demon, only to have Peorth shot him down.

"You wish," muttered the demoness as she searched for a more suitable term to describe their relationship, and eventually gave up as it was far too complicated. So, instead, she opted for a much more simplistic explanation. "He's the mailman." Ignoring her partner's groan, Peorth went on with the introductions. "Kaun, this is Belldandy, my new roommate-"

"I know. However, I'm afraid that I can't stay here for much longer, so you'll have to excuse me." Putting on the rest of his clothes, the demon started for the exit once again and after taking a moment to look back at the two demonesses, Kaun finally left the apartment.

Letting out a long sigh, Peorth glanced over to Belldandy who had now regained her original size and proceeded to fix the broken vase. However, the biggest question here was what to tell her, and in all honesty, Peorth really didn't wish to have this conversation at the moment. "I know that you must have a lot of questions, but it's probably better if we discuss this over breakfast. I must admit that I'm rather tired, and I would prefer to get some sleep right now."

"Yes, I think that's for the best too, Peorth," said Belldandy, knowing all too well that she hadn't completely calmed down. The last thing she needed was to end up losing control of her temper and start a huge argument over something that was most likely a joke. "Goodnight."

"Likewise, Bell."

XXX

 _Muspelheim_

True to its description as the realm of primordial fire, Muspelheim was a land filled with ever active volcanoes and scorching deserts, with little more than vast stretches of barren, inhospitable wastelands between them. It was so inhospitable, than out of the four realms under direct demonic control, Muspelheim was the last one to receive colonists, and only after they discovered the rich deposits of ore it possessed, since it was one of the deadliest places imaginable. And if the extreme environment didn't get you, then the few, yet ferocious creatures that called this place hold, would.

For that reason, most of the locals rarely ventured far from its capital, which was designed like a vast underground fortress to protect them from both the elements and the ferocious predators who would've loved to make a quick meal out of them. And the worst among those creatures were the colossal Sand Dragons, who despite their size were extremely good at burrowing underneath the desert dunes of the aptly named Great Desert, that expanded beyond the southernmost border of the capital.

Due to that, entrance to that area was highly restricted by the realm's administration, that also happened to double as its military forces, considering that the vast majority of its population were members or the local garrison. After all, there was no need for the minority working in the mostly automated local industry to venture deep into the deserts, since most of the mines were located in rocky areas of the realm; and not to mention to those whose businesses were located within the confines of the capital.

Yet despite how unlikely that was, a lone figure found himself waiting right outside of an ancient and fairly weathered building that was nearly covered underneath the sand after it was left unattended for millennia. Situated close to an oasis, deep within what was now called _dragon country_ , this structure once held Muspelheim's emergency Gate Room, that acted as a backup to the main one located in the capital. Of course, back then, the early settlers had clearly underestimated how dangerous the local fauna was, but after mere decades of trying to secure this location, the locals decided to merely stop wasting time and resources and moved the Gate to a safer area, leaving this testament of their ignorance behind. Or at the very least… that was the official story.

'Okay this is getting silly. Where _is_ she?' Checking the self illuminating dial of his watch, the demon let out a frustrated sigh as minutes turned into hours. His contact should've been here almost two hours ago, and by now, his patience was running thin. Which… was surprisingly easy for the ruler of this realm, as Surt was known for many things, although patience wasn't amongst them.

Finally, after what almost felt like eternity, footsteps could be heard from within the building and without even turning to look over at the newcomer, it was almost certain that this was the person he's been waiting for. After all, even with the aid of concealing spells, it was still hard to contain all traces of this goddess' vast power that became fairly noticeable from such a short distance. "You're two hours and thirteen minutes late…"

"My apologies, but as a married woman and mother, I do have more responsibilities to take care of," came the melodious tone that did nothing to appease the already annoyed demon.

"Whoa, wait a second! I'm freezing my ass here in the middle of the night, waiting for _your greatness_ to finish reliving your honeymoon? _Seriously?_ "

Narrowing her eyes as she stepped closer to the ruler of Muspelheim, the teal haired goddess held her oversized axe in a manner that promised pain, should he insist making such crude comments. "I'm not here to discuss my personal affairs, especially while my husband is unaware of this meeting's agenda. Now, what do you have for me that just couldn't wait for my next visit?"

Fishing into his combat uniform, Surt produced a folded document and handed it to the goddess. "This thing. And before you even ask… No, that's _not_ a joke."

Raising an eyebrow, Ansuz took the document and quickly skimmed through its contents. Yet as soon as she did, the baffled goddess ended up stroking the feathers of her winglets in utter confusion. "How in the nine worlds did she come up with this… idea? I've heard a lot of stupid things in my life, but this… is on a whole new level."

"Not necessarily. I think there's some merit to our illustrious leader's idea this time, but… it does go against our non invasive policy," said Surt with a sigh; knowing all too well what would happen if this situation gets out of hand. "Although we've granted mortals' wishes for millennia, we never allowed much information to leak out, except for a few incidents in the past. But most of those were during an era when humans came up with all sorts of crazy stuff. However, if such a leak was caused now… Who knows how many of them will flip out to know that they're nothing more than living batteries?"

No matter how much she wanted to argue about the mortals' role in the world, Ansuz knew that this was simply a millennia old debate between their species, with neither side willing to admit that they're wrong. Instead, she tried to focus on what was right about his statement, and the prospect of this insane idea to go wrong and accidentally expose the immortal word to mankind, was too great to ignore. They've already had a serious problem due to the random and utterly indiscriminate wishes granted by Hagall's agents during the very first day she rose to power, that eventually caused the whole market to collapse for both sides. So, the last thing they needed was to deal with a crisis of much greater magnitude. "I don't like this. If Belldandy and Peorth become celebrities… then any mistake could expose their nature to the whole world."

"Grid pretty much said the same thing, too. But you know how much _she_ listens to the rest of us," said Surt with a shake of his head. "On the other hand, though… As long as they're down there, you _could_ kidnap them back."

"Which we would, if all four of them were together," said Ansuz with a slow nod. "With only two in Midgard and the rest back in Niflheim, I don't want to risk a hostage situation. It's already bad enough as it is."

"As you wish…" Turning around, Surt began to walk away from Ansuz, but not before he paused and offered her one last glance. "I did my part, so what you do with that information is your business. However, keep in mind that the more you wait, the more difficult it might become to get them back."

Watching him turn around once more, Ansuz scratched her chin, wondering if their own plans were simply too slow to provide the desirable results. "Wait! Can you do me a small favor?"

"Hm?" Stopping right before he was about to teleport back into the city, Surt offered Ansuz a curious glance. "What is it?"

"Well… Can you find something for me?"

XXX

 _Niflheim_

While immortals could actually consume food, it was primarily for the sake of their own enjoyment, rather than mere survival. As such, it was the first time in years that, Belldandy bothered to have breakfast, mostly due to the fact that she primarily enjoyed cooking for others; which was impossible to do while living on her own.

Despite that, the Norn of the present wasn't the one who prepared this particular breakfast, since Peorth had already woken up before her and decided to get her day started by making an omelette for both of them. Or at least something that resembled an omelette, as it contained more ingredients than she would've ever used, both in terms of variety and more importantly _quantity_. The thing contained a healthy dose of sliced peppers, fried onions in butter, pepperoni, and two versions of bacon, both processed and smoked slices with the fat still attached to them. And all that was drenched in a sea of egg yolk, mixed with extra flour to better contain its form as it came off the heavy duty frying pan and… nearly shatter her plate by its sheer weight.

"Now that's what I call a hearty breakfast!" said the proud cook, as she served herself the reminder of what was left in the pan, allowing Belldandy to watch the water ripple in their glasses from the sheer force of the impact.

"Peorth… this is… more likely a heart attack in the making," said Belldandy as she was clearly taken aback by the sheer amounts of cholesterol that must've been packed into this omelette.

"Only if we were mortals, Belldandy," said Peorth while tutting her housemate. "It's not like we possess bodies like theirs and actually metabolize this food, so, as long as it's delicious, I don't care about fat or calories. Just enjoy the little pleasures we can afford without putting more junk in the trunk."

Even though she personally preferred to avoid such displays of excess, Belldandy had to admit that Peorth did have a point. Besides, staring their cohabitation with a big argument about Peorth's choice of breakfast would've been a really bad sign for things to come. However, that little mention of _pleasures_ , brought memories of the previous night to Belldandy's mind, and even made her become aware that underneath her apron, Peorth was wearing her familiar bikini once more. 'Was that outfit she wore yesterday… merely a ruse? Maybe to make me think that she's not as… randy?'

Although it was hard to ignore the Norn's intense gaze, Peorth did her best to smile back at her as they silently ate their breakfast. She knew what was likely going on in Belldandy's mind, since she was no stranger to nasty comments and even nastier rumors that some of her former colleagues shared behind her back. ' _She's sleeping with her clients, and even brags about the service she's giving them! To think that she dares call herself a first class goddess… More like Asgard's bicycle, if you ask me. Everyone took her for a ride at least once._ ' Of course Peorth never paid too much attention to those jealous goddesses who envied her for the success they attributed to the way she dressed, rather than her skills as a wish granter. But as long as they didn't step out of the shadows and insult her in plain sight, Peorth had no desire to give them the pleasure of tarnishing her reputation by throwing insults around in the same fashion they did.

Yet, Belldandy wasn't such a woman back then, and perhaps that was exactly the reason why Peorth held a grudge on her, when she thought that the Norn genuinely took pity on her, during that debugging incident. No one cared about the opinion of some cowards who didn't have the courage to confront her, but when it came to a goddess with Belldandy's personality and reputation, Peorth really got upset that she thought less of her; probably because she may have heard those rumors. Still, that was already ancient history, as they currently had significantly more important things to worry about. But before they could focus on the future, there were some things they had to clarify. Misunderstandings and doubt could only prevent them from working together as a team, and yesterday's incident was most certainly not easy for Belldandy to ignore; even if she wouldn't talk about it.

After several minutes of eating in silence, Peorth decided to break the ice, just as she let her fork down. "You know, I'm sorry you got to witnessing that, Belldandy. I knew that bringing Kaun here for a… visit… was a bad idea, but I've just heard news of his reassignment and I wanted to spend some time with him."

Nodding wordlessly, Belldandy sipped from her glass of water, eying Peorth carefully. Unlike the past, both of them were capable of lying, so she knew that taking everything at face value could be naive, yet there was sign of deceit in the demoness' almond eyes. "No, I'm the one who really should've taken the hint after the first couple of.. moans and leave you two alone. Sure, I… got worried at first, but even after I found out that you were willingly participating, I kept listening in…" Lowering her head in shame, Belldandy bit her lower lip with her tiny canines. "I really hate being a demoness..."

"That was your innate curiosity, and not you demonic nature. Trust me on that," said Peorth as she reached over the table and grasped her hands in a reassuring fashion. "Also, don't worry about being indiscreet. Especially when _I_ was the one who brought that demon into my… I mean… _our_ apartment."

"I see." There were a lot of things the Norn wished to ask. From what kind of relationship they had, to the potential impact this could have to her determination to return back to Asgard. After all, it was extremely important to know whether Peorth was fully committed at returning home, or this… distraction could possibly end up ruining their chances. Yet there was no way she could utter such a terrible thing, especially towards the only friend she had in this place. What she could however was to collect some more information about this character and see if he was a threat to them or not. "Peorth? Can I ask something?"

"What? Whether I love him or not?" suggested the curious brunette, only to watch Belldandy shake her head.

"No, that's none of my business. What I do want to know is how long do you know each other," said the Norn, before she paused and observed her face for any signs of negative reaction. And finding none, she went on. "I mean… is he trustworthy, or perhaps-"

"A spy?" finished Peorth for her. "I wasn't born yesterday, girl. Kaun is an old acquaintance from way before I became a demoness. Sure, we barely got to know each other, as we haven't done more than exchange a few words, after we met by accident on Earth. Other than that… not much. At least, until we once again ran into each other after we came here, and… Well, you could say that we became… friends? So, have a little faith in me. I know what I'm doing!"

"Wish _I_ didn't know what you were doing, though..." muttered Belldandy as she let out a tired sigh, since those memories almost kept her up all night. Primarily by finding their way into her own dreams and twisting them in ways that the Norn never thought her mind was capable of producing. 'Thank you Peorth… Thank you so much for turning my little fantasies of granting Keiichi's wish into… something out of _your_ fantasies.'

"Say what you will, but if you got the chance to get all hot and needy with a certain someone, I bet you wouldn't mind it at all," said Peorth with a wink that was intended to lighten the mood; only to have the exact opposite effect.

" _What did you just say?_ " asked the stunned Norn as more memories of her dreams resurfaced, causing her cheeks to flare up in a healthy blush. "I'm not-"

"Yeah, yeah… you're not supposed to have impure thoughts and all that…" mocked Peorth, interrupting the Norn before she got a chance to go on the offensive. "But since we're no longer living in a place where hypocrisy is the norm, then why bother with the whole innocent act? What's so wrong to admit that over time you've developed a crush for one of your clients and wish to get a bit more physical with him?"

"And what do you propose then? Offer him my panties, instead of my business card? Maybe ever write my personal details on them, and kill two birds with one stone?" asked Belldandy with an uncharacteristically sarcastic tone. Which apparently caused Peorth to go silent for several long moments, much to the Norn's horror. "Please tell me you're not considering trying that on your clients."

"No, of course not," said Peorth absentmindedly. "I'm just shocked that _you_ even came up with such an idea. Anyway, you're free to do as you please, but don't expect a mortal be content with just a kiss and a hug. Unlike us, they don't have the luxury of waiting forever until you're finally ready to take things to the next level. If you don't understand this simple thing, then please stick to immortals, or you'll end up wasting a poor man's life."

As much as she wanted to give her a piece of her mind, Belldandy paused when she realized that Peorth _might_ have a point there. Humans lived extremely short lives and as such they tried to experience all they could within a few decades, which by immortal standards wasn't all that much. "Um… hypothetically speaking… If you wanted to date a mortal, how fast would you get to first base?"

"That greatly depends my partner's personality, actually," said Peorth as she tapped her chin in thought. "If we're talking about a more outgoing person, I could get a kiss as early as the first date, but if he's shy… perhaps a bit later on. Still, no more than a week or two after we start dating."

'A _week?_ That's… Wow…' Belldandy couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed with the idea of kissing someone she only knew for a couple of days. Although, if she had to be honest with herself, this wasn't exactly the case when it came to Keiichi. Even though they never met per se, Belldandy already knew a lot of things about him, from observing his daily life for quite some time in the past. But, that too could turn from a big advantage, to a major problem, depending on how she'd approach the whole topic. As that demon pointed out yesterday, it could make her look like a stalker and in the process, scare Keiichi away. "Can I be brutally honest with you?"

"What? Is a week too soon for you?" asked Peorth with a raised eyebrow. "Remember that I'm using the first date as a point of reference, not the day you met your wannabe lover. That by itself should give you some time to get to know him better, before you take the next step."

"No, that's not what I meant. Although, I suppose you do have a point," said Belldandy as she shook her head. "What I wanted to ask is how do you handle a situation where you know someone and yet… _he_ knows nothing of you."

"You play dumb. Act as if you know nothing, and try to keep a mental list of how much things he told you about himself. If you make a mistake and say something you weren't supposed to know and he noticed, then use the whole 'woman's intuition' excuse and immediately change the topic. And if everything else fails, silence him with a kiss!"

"Okay… I think I get it," said Belldandy with a slow nod, as she tried to absorb all that information. Only for her phone to chime, indicating a message. And moments later, the same happened with Peorth's, too.

Deciding to check what this was all about, Peorth fished her phone out of her top's cleavage cutout and immediately run through her messages, until she made a grimace. "Ugh… _Funbags-sama_ wants to see us."

Giggling a bit at Peorth's nickname for Hagall, the Norn verified that she too had received the same message. "I wonder what this is all about… Although, get out of the habit of using that nickname for the Daimakaicho, before you end up calling that in front of her."

"Duly noted. Now, let's put the dishes away and go see what she wants from us."

XXX

Located at the top floors of the Nidhogg mainframe center was the expansive and opulent office of the Daimakaicho. Unlike the throne room that was primarily meant for official meetings, this was the actual workspace for the leader of demonkind, and as such, it was designed with comfort in mind. Not that it was anything short of impressive to anyone who got to take a look on the interior decor, with one side of the room framed by what was a massive fish tank and the opposite one leading to indoor garden, where the Daimakaicho and a few of her guests could relax in the space between the office's inner glass facade and the exterior one that surrounded the whole complex.

Some even noted that the whole idea of incorporating a garden inside the complex was technically speaking a celestial architectural influence. One that was attributed to the previous occupant of this office, who probably copied the interior design of an Asgardian building and adapted it to her own needs, by renovating this office when she first came to power.

Interestingly enough, the current Daimakaicho had yet to remodel this office to suit her tastes, as she often claimed that the existing layout of the office is good enough for her, and any further modifications would've been pointless.

Looking away from her terminal as soon as the former goddesses arrived, Hagall motioned for them to approach and have a seat at the two luxurious chairs that framed her desk. Despite being her trump cards -as she often called them- there was no doubt that neither of them wished to spend more time around her that it was absolutely necessary. As such, Hagall had almost given up trying to start a conversation with them, since most of their responses were extremely laconic and straight to the point, if not blunt at times. "You're late."

"My apologies, Hagall-sama, but we were informed about this meeting just a few minutes ago," said Belldandy as she and Peorth took a seat and tried to act in a relaxed and polite fashion. They had more than enough reasons to dislike her, for more than obvious reasons, yet paradoxically enough, losing her favor would only make their lives in Niflheim much harder.

"Hm… I think I'll need to have a chat with Ehwaz later, but for now… I've got news for you," said Hagall in a calm and businesslike manner, before she pulled out a pair of leaflets from one of the desk's inbuilt drawers and handed one to each of them. "I have an assignment for you, and I think that this will be much more exciting than the boring jobs you currently have."

Raising an eyebrow almost in sync, the former goddesses checked the leaflet for a few seconds and couldn't help but feel rather lost; with Peorth being the first to voice her confusion. "I'm sorry, but… this looks like an advertisement for a… music concert?"

"That's correct! With the market being in such a bad shape right now, the best way of generating income is by capitalizing on the mass adoration of a band's fans," said Hagall with a grin, causing the two brunettes to exchange a blank look. "I know that it's a bit of an unorthodox method, but if we send you on the mortal realm as vocalists of a pop band, then we can generate a healthy income from the fans you'll attract."

It was a novel idea, that much Belldandy had to give her, but at the same time, the Norn knew just what kind of risks behind such a proposition. "Is that really advisable, though? If me and Peorth become… celebrities, then it's going to be extremely problematic to conceal our true nature from the public. Any little mistake and humanity will be exposed to the immortal world."

"Yes, I'm fully aware of the risks involved," said Hagall with a slight nod, and then hit a few buttons in her terminal, that activated one of the large, wall mounted monitors on either side of the office's door. "For that purpose, we'll be collaborating with a mortal who's going to act as your employer." As the profile of a woman appeared on the monitor and the former goddesses turned to take a better look, Hagall went on. "This is Sayoko Mishima, daughter of a wealthy businessman from a country called Japan. During the early phases of my takeover, she was… involved in a rather ridiculous wish that almost ended up with her being kidnapped. As a compensation, we've promised her an actual wish and she wanted to build a legacy that would leave an impact in the business world. And that's where you're coming in: you'll be the main attraction of her brand new record company; Mishima Records. Oh, and in the process you'll generate a huge income for us, too."

Staring at the Daimakaicho in disbelief, the two former goddesses had no idea what to make of this… plan of hers. There were so many variables that no one could predict in a situation like this, and while it seemed to be a fairly easy task and an excuse to go to the mortal realm, that too could become a problem, especially since it would inevitably attract Asgard's attention. However, without knowing whether this would lead to a rescue attempt or… a mission to have them sealed, neither of them was extremely optimistic about the prospect of antagonizing their former comrades. Still, more than the pragmatic Peorth, Belldandy was more willing to bet that her parents would attempt to help them, instead of acting like total idiots who couldn't see past the letter of the law and treat them like demonesses.

"When do we start?" asked the Norn of the present, after she saw the hesitation in Peorth's eyes.

"Today even," said Hagall as she pressed another button on her console. "However, I'm not sending you there on your own. Some of your guards will go along with you to act as your bodyguards and you're getting an… agent too."

There was a knock on the door that almost made the former goddesses to jump, given how soon it happened after Hagall summoned whoever was chosen for that job.

"You may enter."

As the heavy, double doors opened, the brunettes saw a tall, blonde demon in a red outfit walk inside the office and immediately offer his leader a deep bow. "How can I serve you, my lady?"

"Ah, punctual as ever, Welsper," said Hagall with a grin. "These are the demonesses I've told you about. You'll escort them to the mortal realm and come into contact with our client. She'll offer you the means to get started with this particular assignment."

"By your command, Hagall-sama," said Welsper as he got up and addressed the former goddesses for the first time. "Pleased to meet you, I'm demon first class, unlimited license, Welsper."

"The… pleasure is ours," said Belldandy, as she got up from her seat and approached their so called agent; with Peorth following right behind her. "I'm demoness first-"

"Oh, I do know about you," said Welsper with a smile, but immediately corrected himself, before she got the wrong idea. "Both of you, I mean! You're quite popular, actually."

'Tell me about it...' thought Peorth, stepping closer to this demon, yet for once she found herself in the rather unusual situation where she wasn't the center of attention. Instead, it was Belldandy who caught Welsper's attention, despite her bikini being way more revealing than the Norn's outfit that exposed far less skin than hers. 'That's… interesting. Come to think of it… where have I seen this guy?'

However, Belldandy was one step ahead of her friend, as she too couldn't help but find his appearance and name to be eerily familiar. Until she managed to recall someone with very similar features and even an identical name. "Excuse me, but… aren't you… Niflheim's broom racing champion? Although… I thought that you were a child?"

"Yes, that's me!" said Welsper with an almost ridiculous grin, before he tried to regain his composure and went on. "Although, this is how I'm supposed to look like. That other appearance was… due to a curse. Which is now lifted of course! But let's not worry about the past! We need to discuss the details of your meeting with miss Sayoko."

Offering a nod, the two former goddesses followed after him, as he led them out of Hagall's office, yet not without Peorth throwing a little barb at him.

"Lead on… _cursed child._ "

XXX

 _Asgard_

In a sealed room deep within the Yggdrasil complex, Tyr anxiously waited for the newest experiment's results, even if he had the gnawing suspicion that they were still far from the breakthrough they needed.

"Well? You're awfully quiet."

Looking up from his datapad, the adopted brother of the Daitenkaicho, and often claimed as the god of mischief, didn't seem extremely impressed with the outcome of their experiment. "What can I say? We got around… 79% chances of success. Which isn't exactly the most comforting number, considering just how many things could go wrong."

"Apparently, that still didn't stop the demons from trying that conversion, Loki. And by the looks of it, they've managed to succeed too; four times in a row."

Although there was no sarcasm in his brother's tone, Loki found it hard not to notice the implied barb that still lingered in his words. "Actually, they only did that three times in a row, given that Urd changed herself into a demoness. And the worst part is that proceeded in reckless abandon, by trying a totally untested procedure on the rest of them."

"Isn't that your modus operandi, though?" asked Tyr, raising an eyebrow at the troublemaker, who promptly gave him a pointed look.

"Yes… as long as my niece isn't involved, _mister sensible father_. Or are you telling me that you want to use the other two as guinea pigs, before we try to convert Belldandy back to a goddess? I may love to prank others, but there's generally a line I don't cross, and that's not to cause any kind of serious harm to them; both physical and mental." Tapping the side of his head in a rather dramatic fashion, Loki went on. "The problem here is that the physiological changes during the conversion process can be so abrupt that we might end up damaging their minds. So, we'll get them back, but… not in the way they used to be. Is that what you want?"

"No, not at all," said Tyr as he let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm just getting restless. Two and a half years have passed and we're still nowhere close to have the means to turn them back. At this rate, I'm starting to think that we're just wasting everyone's time; especially theirs."

"Well… if we didn't have such restrictive rules on what we were allowed to research, then I wouldn't have to practically pick up the work that was essentially abandoned for millennia," said Loki with a sneer. "Not only research on the relation between divine and demonic nature was outlawed, but we've got protectors to further hinder any information from being exchanged in a meaningful fashion. Do I have to point out whose fault is that? Because… it's definitely not mine."

Biting back a response for the sake of avoiding a fallout that would put even more delays to an already slow project, Tyr tried to go back to their original topic. "Let's restart and this time, use the angel egg data."

"That should almost certainly give us perfect scores, but… can we really get their angels back?" asked Loki as he prepared the simulation parameters by adding the angel and then starting the program once again.

"Ansuz is certain that she can get them back, so I'll leave that job to her," said Tyr, as he got up to grab another cup of coffee; probably the only thing to help him stay awake at this point, especially after pulling an all nighter. "In the meantime, let's make sure we can do our part."

"No argument here," muttered Loki, before he remembered a detail from yesterday's reports. "Hey, have you heard about Hagall's new idea for making a profit?"

"Unfortunately… I did," said Tyr with a grumble. "Sometimes I wonder just what Hild taught that harebrained girl. Or why the rest of them listen to her, anyway… Where's a coup when you really need it?"

"Dunno, I kind of think that's an opportunity," said Loki with a grin, holding up a printout of the same flier Hagall had given Belldandy and Peorth. "As long as they're on Earth… we could do something about it."

"That goes without saying. Although, what about Urd and Lind? They're still back in Niflheim… And I doubt that Hagall will risk sending them on the mortal realm too."

"Leave them to me, I've got an idea," said Loki with a grin, before he handed the leaflet to his adopted brother. "However, I think you'll need to get busy too. Remember that boy I've found on Bell's wish list?"

"Yes, quite vividly," said Tyr, who still found it a bit hard to believe that his middle daughter had potentially developed a crush on one of her clients. "Why?"

"Well…"

XXX

 _Low Levels, Niflheim_

Struggling to keep up with what appeared to be a tortuous experience, Urd had found herself jogging around the whole city block around her casino, in nothing more than a sports bra and shorts. Which was pretty much the same attire Lind used during their training regimen, albeit with one notable difference: the headphones Urd was forced to wear throughout her hellish experience. One that was still hard to get used to, even after several months of practice.

"Can I go to bed now? It's freaking morning already!" cried Urd in utter frustration, as she was approaching the limits of her endurance; both physically and mentally. "Everyone else is getting up… and I'm running around in my panties! While listening to stupid Enka!"

"They're sportswear, not lingerie," said Lind, in an almost emotionless voice. "And this experience will further make you conquer your weakness. So, don't expect it to be easy. Or pleasant for that matter."

"Have I told you that you're a cold bitch?" muttered Urd behind clenched teeth, even though her words came out much weaker than intended.

"Numerous times already," said the stoic warrior as she casually shrugged the insult without making much out of it. "At any rate, you're free to go to bed now."

"Great… I'm taking _yet another_ day off… only because you've kept me up all night long… _Again!_ " grumbled Urd as she dragged her feet towards the casino's entrance. "Until I wake up -providing _that I do_ wake up- you're in charge of the casino. Oh, and try to smile a bit, Lind. You're scaring away the customers by being so damn serious all the time."

"Yes, I'll do my best," said the blue haired demoness as she gently pushed Urd towards the casino. "It's not the first time I'm doing this, after all."

"And try to wear something other than your combat uniform, too. Just some generic goddess robes should do for now," added Urd as an afterthought, and for a moment, she felt Lind pause behind her.

'Robes? How long had it been since I've worn something like that? Well, with the exception of ceremonial dresses … I haven't worn any types of civilian clothes since I've joined the Fighting Wings.'

Under normal circumstances, Urd would've realized what the problem with her previous request was, but in her sleep deprived state, the Norn wasn't exactly capable of such complex thoughts. Instead she kept on, almost as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "Yeah, try something casual or classy if you want, but nothing far too slutty. We've got some standards, you know… So, I don't want people think that we're now throwing strip shows!"

"Don't worry, I'll behave." At this point, Lind knew that holding any arguments with the sleep deprived Norn was clearly a big waste of time for both of them. So, the best she could do at the time was to nod at her while she half pushed, half carried Urd to the room they shared and place her on the larger of the two beds.

However, as Lind was about to tuck her in, Urd noticed something she had always been there, but never made any comments about it. "Lind? Why do you keep that single bang of hair longer than the rest?"

"It's… complicated," said Lind after a few awkward moments of silence. "But that's not what's important right-"

Surprising her once again, Urd reached up and took the visor right off the demoness' face, and then smiled at her. "I don't get why you insist wearing that silly thing. You're much prettier without it…"

'Pretty? Me?' wondered the stunned warrior as she watched Urd idly brush the long side bang with her fingers. Regaining her composure, Lind did her best to make her snap out of it as well, before she went too far thanks to her sleep deprivation. "You're just tired… After all, I've been told that I'm a cold bitch."

"Maybe cold… but certainly not frigid," said Urd with a smile that made Lind's eyes widen in concern, especially as the half demoness pulled the covers aside. "We still have half an hour before the casino opens, so, come closer and I can thaw you up, girl."

Lind almost reeled back in shock as she never expected something so forward from Urd, even though the latter was still fully clothed. Just the implications of what the Norn was proposing caused a short circuit in the warrior's mind, and left her with a healthy blush in her face. "I-I… still need to pick some… casual robes!"

Chuckling weakly, as she watched Lind's hasty retreat, Urd covered herself up and prepared to get the much needed sleep she so much longed for. 'Well, what would know… you can make those expressions, too.'

Meanwhile, outside the room, Lind was still trying to recover from the panic attack that she never saw coming. As a Valkyrie she had faced all kinds of horrors and things that would've otherwise send others crying to their mommies. Yet Urd's flirting proved too much for the rigid demoness' psyche, especially after centuries of considering herself as broken goods. As a matter of fact, if anyone else aside from the otherwise unpopular hybrid tried that on her, she would've punched them right in the face and then some. However… with Urd, it was hard to ignore her reputation; or rather, compare it with her own.

'The black and white one. The one winged angel. I… honestly have no idea what sounds worse. Probably both, now that I think of it.'

Shaking her head, Lind decided to leave those problems aside. After all, it was not the time nor the place to worry about their reception in Asgard. The biggest priority was to get back, before she allowed her will to be broken by her own self doubt. Giving up for the sake of mere convenience was something too unacceptable for a goddess, let alone a Valkyrie. 'One thing at a time though. Let's first take care of our business, and then I can go and see what that _idiot_ is doing down here. If he lied about being reassigned and volunteered so that he could see some naked demonesses… _I'll rip him a new one._ '

Summoning an outfit she hadn't worn for centuries, Lind almost felt as if she no longer knew that goddess from back then, yet at the same time she hadn't cast away her past either. Which was exactly why she kept her hair like that, although she had no desire to try and explain that to Urd. Not while the latter was in such a state of mind. 'I really need to cut her some slack. In all honestly she's doing well better than I had anticipated of her, so, she deserves her rest. Come to think of it… if she wasn't this rebellious and lazy, she could've made a great Valkyrie.'

Images of the most troublesome amongst the Norns dressed as a member of the Fighting Wings formed into Lind's mind, and while there many things to consider about such a proposition, the first thing that came to her was whether Urd would like to be her roommate in Valhalla if she enlisted.

For as rebellious and lazy as she was, Urd was also surprisingly fun to be around.

XXX

 _Three months later_

"Kei-chan, I'm home!"

Happily announcing her arrival, the short haired brunette expected some sort of response from her brother, who must've already returned from work; or at least one of the part time jobs he took to make a living these days. 'Let me guess… he fell asleep; again.'

Letting out a sigh, she took her shoes off and headed straight for the living room that doubled as her brother's bedroom, ever since he moved in with her. "Hey, Kei-chan? Have you fallen asleep again? At least set up an alarm clock, or you'll be late for your next job!"

Opening his eyes, the exhausted and groggy Keiichi looked up from the low table, where he had fallen asleep while reading a motorsports magazine. "I'm free for the rest of the day, Megumi. The worksite is closed due to some concert that's taking place in Nekomi's stadium, and the organizers didn't like the idea of heavy machinery making all that noise just across the street. So, they paid the contractors to call it off a day early, and since I'm working in the night shift, I can stay home."

"Oops! Sorry about that, Kei-chan!" said Megumi with a wince, when she realized that she had woken her brother up, for no reason whatsoever.

Given how crazy his schedule was these days, with Keiichi struggling to keep up with his several part time jobs, the poor man rarely had the luxury of getting a good night's rest. Instead, he took naps whenever he had some free time, and while he did get close to eight hours of sleep, by doing that in several intervals, left Keiichi with a constant feeling of fatigue and even downright irritation. At times it was so bad that he was forced to go to work by bus, since he didn't feel he could safely drive his bike in such a state.

Of course, this was supposedly a temporary measure, one he took after the whole _graduation fiasco_ , that took place when he thought that he only needed to take one foreign class instead of two; which was the actual requirement. That costly mistake caused him to wait for another year before he could finally graduate, and in the process lose an almost guaranteed job position as a bike mechanic, since in the meantime, someone else got hired and they no longer needed him. And for some reason he had the hardest time to find another garage or bike shop that needed an extra pair of hands, which basically left him with the rather undesirable option of taking whatever part time job he could find, just to earn a living until he could finally get another chance to prove his worth as a mechanic.

"Don't worry about it, Megumi. I should've told you earlier, but I guess I've forgot." Getting up, Keiichi stretched and stifled a yawn, before he noticed his sister's expression. 'Uh oh… She's got _that_ look again..'

"Say… Kei-chan? I was wondering… did you finally ask her out?"

"No, and I don't think you understand what's going on, Megumi," said Keiichi with a tired sigh. Ever since she caught him talking to Kasumi during a lunch break at the convenience store they worked, Megumi started pressing him hard to ask her out. "Just because we're co-workers and she's polite towards me, doesn't mean that she likes me too. It's common courtesy, Megumi."

"Oh, come on! Don't be such a pessimist, Kei-chan! I think she likes you!" said Megumi with a big smile on her face; one that her brother refused to return.

"Only as a _friend_ ," said Keiichi with a groan. "It doesn't take a genius to realize that she parked me in the _forever friend zone_ , all while she' drooling about a _dreamy guy_ who drops by with his shiny, brand new Yamaha to drive her home."

"Really? Is it a good model?" asked Megumi with a raised eyebrow.

"A YZF-R1 actually. Not bad for someone who probably bought it to get the chicks," said Keiichi with a disgusted growl. "And I'm quoting him here, since he more or less admitted that at some point. His only reasoning for buying such a high performance bike was that the chicks would go mad with his whole biker look."

"You're nearly on the same level as a pro racer and she picks the noob? _Gimme a break!_ "

"Who says that it has anything to do with skills? This isn't a race after all; just mindless showing off," said Keiichi with a grimace. "It's all about looking handsome while acting like you're some big-shot. And I want nothing to do with this stupidity"

"I know that you don't like showing off, Kei-chan, but… at the same time, if you always back off that easily, you'll never get a girlfriend," said Megumi. Reaching into her jacket, the college student retrieved a pair of tickets for tonight's concert. "I even got these for you, so, why don't you try to ask her to go to the concert with you."

"Look, I really appreciate your efforts, Megumi, but I'm not interested," said Keiichi with a sigh as he walked towards the kitchen and got a soda from the fridge. "It's not only about showing off, it's… about being myself. I just don't want to act like an idiot just to get her to like me. After all, in the end all she'd like would be the _act_ ; not _me_."

"Okay, I guess you've a point there." Scratching her head, the dejected brunette decided to back off and give her brother a break. No matter how much she wanted to see him happy, this plan of hers didn't appear to work at all. 'Maybe I should look elsewhere for a girl that might like him. I thought that one who was familiar with him would do the trick, but Kasumi is certainly not his type by the looks of it.' Making a mental note to ask some of her own friends later, and see if anyone was a suitable candidate, Megumi was about to put the tickets back in her pocket. Until she realized that despite this lost opportunity, they could still prove to be of use. "Hey, Kei-chan? Since I've got them anyway, why not go to that concert with me? Everyone's talking about that new group in the campus, so I wanted to see if they're really good. Besides, it's going to cheer you up a bit!"

"Huh? Aren't you a bit old to have me take you to concerts?" asked Keiichi, almost ignoring the last part of what Megumi said about cheering him up; or the fact that once again she had _that_ look on her face. "And to be honest with you… I'm not really into pop."

"Right… as if you like any other type of music," said Megumi, while sticking her tongue at him. "Anyway, if that's the case, then I'll call up a few of my friends and see if anyone wants to go to the concert with me."

"Sure thing, Megumi. Have fun-" said Keiichi, but stopped when he noticed that his sister was searching through her phone's contact list, and by the looks of it, she was trying to decide between three guys. "Hold on! When you said a friend… you meant a _guy?_ "

"Of course," said Megumi in a fairly casual fashion. Even if she was in reality trying hard not to laugh at how easy it was to push her brother's buttons. "What's the point of taking a girl with me? This is the best opportunity for me to get to know someone and-"

Before Megumi could finish that sentence, Keiichi crushed the now empty soda can, and tossing it to the garbage bin, he grabbed his sister by the back of her jacket. "Alright, missy. I'm taking you to that concert, and I won't take no for an answer. Now, hand me those tickets."

With a cat like grin on her face, Megumi passed the tickets to her brother, allowing him to take a better look at what this whole concert was all about. Even though it's been all the buzz during the last few days, Keiichi never really paid too much attention to this sort of stuff. To the point where he didn't even know the performing band's name, despite the fact that there were advertising posters all over Nekomi for several days already.

'Huh… _Rose Witches?_ Who names their band something like that? Although, the two vocalists look kind of pretty. Especially the one with the blue eyes. Hm… I might enjoy this after all.'

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

Unlike most of my stories, where Peorth's mannerisms lead to nothing at all, in this case, she's not all bark and no bite. So, she does have a relationship of some sort, although she won't admit that the case. Of course, this will play a part later on into the story, and it's not thrown in for shock value.

Now a few more things for the background information. Muspelheim is the fiery realm in the Norse myths. Its inhabitants are the Fire Giants or Eldjotnar (plurar of Eldjotunn) and Surt (or rather Surtr) is mentioned as their leader. In this story there are certain similarities with that, although there are also some differences as well. Especially given the fact that there seems to be no Giants in the AMG world, so I reused the term for the demon's fighting forces. I felt that there was a need for something to act as a counterpart for the Valkyries and the rest of Heaven's Fighting Wings. Hild also originates from that realm as well and her general appearance was used as a template for the rest of the demons who live there, probably an adaptation to the natural energies of the fiery realm. I felt it would be nice to expand the backstory of Niflheim's leader a bit. Plus, the fact that she originates from a hostile and dangerous world, where only the strongest survives, would help to explain her own strength and even her name which literally translates into "Battle", something fitting for someone that comes from a society where most are warriors.

Lind's civilian robes are the same ones she wore in that flashback when we see her stare at her one winged angel (at that point she thought that she only had one, instead of two angels).

As you can see, Keiichi pretty much graduated and still trying to find a full time job. The incident in regards to his graduation is the same one from the series, where he simply forgot that he needed two foreign classes to meet the necessary requirements in order to graduate. In the series, this motivated Chihiro to hire him, but as you can tell, that's not the case here. Without Belldandy and the other goddesses around, things happened differently.

And… with this, their first meeting won't take too long from this point. It'll happen soon enough.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

As much as Keiichi hated to admit it, Megumi was absolutely right when she insisted that they needed to leave their house early to get to the concert in time. The traffic jam caused by the sheer number of last minute attendees -like himself and Megumi- effectively cut off the whole area surrounding the stadium from the rest of the city, turning a fifteen minute drive into a one and half hour ordeal. There were so many cars on the streets, that in the end the frustrated siblings simply gave up and parked their bikes a few city blocks further away their destination than they had initially expected.

'Just how much money did Sayoko pour into promoting this thing?' wondered Keiichi as he surveyed his surroundings. It was still a good couple minutes away for the doors to open, and yet the whole place was packed with restless fans who arrived from all over Japan just to attend this concert. As a matter of fact, the crowd was so large that the organizers had a couple of SWAT vehicles brought on site, with the police officers forming two files on either sides of the main entrance; just in case the crowd got out of hand. Or that's what he initially thought, as Keiichi couldn't help but notice that the so called _officers_ lacked any kind of insignia on their otherwise black uniforms. Even more interesting though, was that they weren't carrying the regular police batons used for riot control, but something akin to a hatchet.

'Huh? Is using _that thing_ even legal?' However, when one of them turned to look in his direction, Keiichi suddenly felt no desire to stick around to find more about them. He pretty much hurried across the street and towards his sister who was talking to some girl which, Keiichi assumed to be one of Megumi's friends from NIT.

"Hey, look what I've got, Kei-chan!" said Megumi as she turned around and held up a pair of lottery coupons she just got from her fellow student. "They're for attending the after party, and since Shiho's boyfriend couldn't come after all, she gave me them to me! Isn't that great?"

"Uh… yeah… that's cool," said Keiichi as he nodded at Megumi's friend, who excused herself and walked away from them. Waiting for a few seconds for the brunette student to get out of earshot, Keiichi pulled Megumi closer and tried to whisper to her, even though he knew that given how many people were talking around them, it would've been impossible for others to listen in to their conversation anyway. "Look. Megumi… I really have a bad feeling about this. Call me stupid, but I sure don't like the sight of those security guards," said Keiichi as he carefully nodded in their direction, trying not to be too obvious to anyone else aside from his sister. "Dunno how it's even legal to have them carrying axes, but-"

"Are you really sure about that, Kei-chan? Those are just police batons," said his perplexed sister, causing Keiichi to blink and turn to check once more.

'Huh? Am I seeing things? Because they still look like axes to me…' Shaking his head, the dark haired man was about to ask his sister to take a better look, but she had other ideas.

"Come on, stop being such a spoilsport, Kei-chan! We're here to enjoy ourselves and you're so tense, you're starting to see things!" Wrapping an arm around his, Megumi dragged her reluctant brother away, hoping to get his mind off of… whatever was eating him up. "Look, there's a food stall over there. Let's go grab something to eat before the concert starts."

"Oh, okay…"

XXX

" _Absolutely not! I'm not showing up out there, wearing that… thing!_ "

Taking a few steps back from the furious Norn, Welsper had admit that for someone as lovely and gentle as Belldandy was supposed to be, the demoness in front of him… didn't show any of those qualities. Of course, most of his expectations were based on her past as a goddess, and only now did he realize that her transformation into a demoness may had changed a few things. Or perhaps she simply _hated_ the outfit he and the rest of his team picked for her and Peorth. "But… it was specifically made for you by a world class fashion designer!"

"Let me repeat myself… I'm _not_ showing up out there, wearing something _so short_ that the tiniest of moves will expose my underwear! I don't mind something sexy, but… _slutty_ is out of question! Now, toss that thing away and get me something _sensible_ to wear!" said Belldandy behind clenched teeth. And while Welsper tried to come up with a way to appease her, the sound of footsteps alerted both immortals that they had company. 'Oh great… It's the _sleazy weasel_ again.'

"Please, don't be so negative, miss Belldandy. It would be really bad if we turn down this custom made outfit, and attract the press' attention when its designer will find out," said the bespectacled Vice President of Mishima Records as he approached them with one of his almost patented grins present on his face.

"Either the skirt gets longer, or you'll have to find another singer," spat the adamant Norn and then turned to leave, as she had no desire to spend more time around _this_ guy than absolutely necessary. From the very first moment she was introduced to Sayoko's cousin, it was painfully obvious that this scumbag was worse news than most demons she had the misfortune of knowing, and by a long shot too. At least most demons who respected themselves and cared about their public image had _some_ standards, which unfortunately couldn't be said about _this_ guy. One of the first things he did after being introduced to her and Peorth was to take them to a fancy restaurant and then make a beeline to a love hotel for a _menage a trois_ ; a request that infuriated Peorth enough to slap him hard enough that she nearly dislocated his jaw. 'Come to think of it… Where _is_ she? I haven't seen her since we left the hotel.'

"Well, I suppose we could-" started Welsper in an attempt to defuse the situation, but his mortal associate wouldn't back off that easily. Worse yet, for the sake of this rather unusual mission, the blonde demon was technically working for him and his cousin; an arrangement that Welsper wasn't particularly fond of.

"Miss Belldandy, I _emphatically_ suggest that you listen to our opinion on the matter," said Aoshima in his superficially polite tone, that did little to hide the arrogance of this poor excuse of a man. "We've consulted the best advisors in the show business, and a spectacular scene presence is key for your group's success. This is a cutthroat industry, with far too much offer than the current demand, and unless you provide a well rounded product to sell, lady Hagall's investment in you and your friend will prove to be a total waste of time and resources. You wouldn't want that now, do you?"

Just the mention of the Daimakaicho was more than enough to make Belldandy take the hint and grab the accursed outfit out of Welsper's hands and wordlessly head towards the changing room. There was no need to start an argument with a spineless coward who would use thinly veiled threats like that to blackmail her into doing what he wanted; especially since she had no doubt that he was the mastermind behind this outfit's design. 'Chauvinistic son of a-'

"Ah, there you are, Bell!" said Peorth as soon as her friend walked into the changing room, interrupting the Norn's thoughts. "I was wondering where you've gone to."

" _That's my line!_ I've searched the whole place and couldn't find you anywhere!" said the frustrated Norn, tossing the much despised outfit onto the floor without much of a second thought. But before she went on with her tirade and end up venting on someone who had nothing to do with her situation, Belldandy grabbed a chair and sat next to Peorth, who was putting on some light touches on her makeup. "Sorry… I just run onto the wrong people…"

" _Mmhm…_ I guess our illustrious _Vice President_ is still finding it hard to keep it in his pants? Funny that, given how abysmal his performance is, from what I saw anyway. I sometimes wonder why he even bothers trying to act like the playboy, when he can hardly function without his _blue candy_." Her voice was so caustic that actually made Belldandy giggle a bit, especially since Peorth exploited _that guy's_ dependence on the said pills, and on one occasion she managed to substitute the ones he had in his nightstand with something that caused him a severe allergic reaction. One that required a quick trip to the local hospital to get under control.

"You know, if I knew what kind of a sleaze he was back then, I would've never chided you for pulling that stunt on him. He deserved it, and you probably saved yet another innocent soul from getting dragged into the dirt, by falling for his lies," said Belldandy as she couldn't help by shake her head in disgust at how many women were willingly dating _that guy_. Of course, she knew that money was a powerful motivation for mortals, and probably the sole reason behind Aoshima's popularity, as she noticed just how many girls he picked and then tossed aside during the last few months. And in all honesty, Belldandy had no wish to even know just how many he had swindled like that during the course of his pathetic excuse of a life.

"There's no need to apologize, Bell. I know that you don't like to patronize others and jump to early conclusions, but in _his_ case, I was right from the get go. Sadly, the guards must've figured out that I had something to do with it, so, they're keeping an eye out just to make sure I won't go near his stuff anymore. But… your method of dealing with him wasn't too shabby either," said Peorth as she turned and gave her friend a wink. "You totally took me by surprise that you could be this devious!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," quipped the Norn, looking away for a moment.

"Oh, come on! You totally destroyed him with those cupcakes you baked for us a month ago. Just tell me what you put into them!" said Peorth with a grin as she leaned closer to the Norn and wrapped an arm around her. "It'll be our little secret. After all, friends share sects, right?"

"Fine…" Letting out a heavy sigh, Belldandy decided that it wouldn't hurt to admit her involvement in the single incident where she used her culinary skills to purposely cause misery to living being; no matter how much the said being deserved it. "I replaced all the butter in the dough with paraffin wax. If you pull it off just right, you can't quite tell the difference and while it's no difference for us immortals… for humans, paraffin wax is a mild laxative. I think you know where this is going..."

"Oh you're _evil!_ " laughed Peorth, much to Belldandy's chagrin. "Who would've thought that miss proper could come up with something so devious and underhanded! You surprise me, girl!"

Looking away to hide the tiny smile of satisfaction that would've looked out of character a couple of years ago, Belldandy tried to change the subject. "Although… you never told me where you've been to. Is everything alright, or is there something I should know?"

"Yes and no… I mean, _I'm_ fine, but getting those letters is starting to become really difficult," said Peorth with a heavy sigh. "With all the extra guards assigned to us, it's a huge challenge for Kaun's servants to sneak past them, and the same goes for me too. Today for example, it took me nearly fifteen whole minutes to reach the meetup location. And as a result, you did end up noticing that I was gone. I don't know how longer it's going to take for the others to take notice of my absence as well."

Offering Peorth a slow nod, Belldandy tried keep her expression as neutral and collected as possible. She knew all too well that losing this little lifeline would be a huge blow to their morale, but expressing her worry would also put a tremendous pressure on Peorth, who already worked hard enough for her sake. And perhaps also hide her own guilt for not doing anything other than complaining all the time, especially since they've gotten to the mortal realm and were more or less forced to work for people like _that guy_.

Noticing that Peorth had already put her own outfit on, Belldandy let out a sigh and went to pick hers up from the floor and dusted it off. Despite the fact that they were technically doing this as part of Hagall's _brilliant_ plan to revive Niflheim's market, Peorth actually seemed to enjoy their current assignment. When she asked her why that was the case, way back when they first recorded their first song, Peorth claimed that she was pleased to do something that would bring a smile to their fans and hopefully make them happy. Which felt much better than granting wishes to self centered, ruthlessly ambitious, and occasionally… messed up individuals they had to deal with during the past two and a half years. 'If this makes you happy… well, I suppose I should go along with it. _For now_ , at least.'

XXX

 _Niflheim_

Checking her purple dress on the mirror, Urd prepared herself for the unimaginably aggravating experience of humoring the Daimakaicho. Normally, Hagall would drop by from time to time and check on Urd's business, as well as the demoness herself, which… given the circumstances mystified Urd to no end. The blonde leader of demonkind was an enigma, given that the Norn had no idea what her disposition towards her was. On one hand there was the obvious fact that she kept her and the rest of the former goddesses captive, yet on the other… she almost pretended to care, and in some ways she actually did. Not that it really made Urd -or any of them- to like her, as the downsides of their situation greatly surpassed any benefits, but there were moments that the Norn wondered just what was going on inside that blonde's head.

'I don't get it. One moment she acts as if I was her sister or something, and the next… she tries her best to make me wish I could punch her in the face. Heh… I still do, but it's going to complicate things too much.'

Making sure to put on some of the jewelry Hagall sent her as gifts over the years, Urd couldn't help but notice that most of them were actually well-made replicas of what her mother wore on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, she was almost convinced that some of them weren't even replicas at all, but old jewelry that once belonged to her mother, and then fell into Hagall's hands after she moved into the Daimakaicho's mansion. Perhaps that was also the reason why Urd accepted those gifts in the first place, even though she'd never admit that to anyone.

Running her gloved fingers across the black feathers attached to her earrings, it was hard for the half demoness to avoid noticing the strong resemblance between herself and Hild. And on an irrational impulse, Urd reached to pull her hair up and observed her reflection for several long seconds, until a knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts. "Come on in!"

Entering the room with an almost annoyed expression, Lind gave Urd a long stare before approaching her. "Are you finally ready? Hagall's getting rather impatient… and I think it's not necessary to mention about your biggest fan, too."

"Ugh… thank you for reminding me about him. As if I didn't have enough problems to deal with…" said Urd with a groan, before she took a better look at Lind and noticed that she was back into her purple combat uniform, although she did change her visor for a similarly tinted pair of sunglasses. And although she had no time to make questions about Lind's change of style, it was fairly evident that the warrior prepared to head out. Which… considering the timing Lind chose, left Urd with mixed emotions. "Lind… I thought we agreed that you'd stay here and take care of the casino until I come back."

"I'm not sure about that. From what I remember, I never did anything more than acknowledge you," said Lind as she crossed her arms in defiance. "With everyone tuning in to the livestream of… Niflheim's trump cards' latest concert, I believe it's prudent to use that opportunity to go and have a few words with _that demon_. And this time, without you chaperoning me."

"Hey, someone just had to keep an eye out for you! If you keep trying to scare Kaun away, we might end up losing our contact with them!" said Urd, before she added in a much lower voice. "Oh, and Peorth probably prefers him fully equipped, too."

Letting out an almost uncharacteristic growl, the typically stoic warrior got visibly agitated just by the mention of the brunette's relationship with the aforementioned demon. "Peorth needs to set her priorities right, instead of fooling around with shady characters."

"Let me guess… she's compromising the mission?" said Urd with a long sigh. "Look Lind, I know that you don't trust demons -nor should you- but I don't think that Kaun is a serious threat for her; or any of us, for that matter. He's just too… simple minded for that."

"And that's a good thing?" shot Lind back at her, before she decided to use Urd's own situation against her. "Do I have to remind you of a _certain demon_ who wants to gets into your panties? Well, this Kaun character isn't all that better, just more of a beta male."

"I'm shocked that you even know what a beta male is supposed to be. Anyway!... This is kinda getting silly," said Urd with a shake of her head, as the frustration of dealing with Lind was starting to get to her. The former Valkyrie was as obstinate as anyone could get, which in certain cases happened to be one of her most admirable traits. Unfortunately for Urd though, this wasn't one of those cases. "The bottom line is that it's not my or even your business to poke our noses in Peorth's personal life. After all, she always had a thing for mortals, so… who knows? Maybe she wanted to try a demon too?"

"Likely story. Who wants to sully themselves with their filthy kind?" spat Lind almost without thinking, but by the time she realized just who she was talking to, it was far too late to take it back. "No, I mean-"

"You mean _my father_. That's the first person who comes to my mind, and for a good reason too. Without him sullying himself with a _filthy demoness_ , I wouldn't be here to have this wonderful conversation with you." Somehow Urd's voice lacked the of the most obvious emotions one would've expected from her. As a matter of fact, the Norn remained so calm and detached from her surroundings that in a way, the look in her eyes was much scarier than the fiercest of glares. After all, whenever one got to the point where they pushed themselves to apathy instead of confronting whoever challenged them, it was a clear sign that they didn't trust themselves to do so in a manner that would allow both of them to walk out of said argument unscathed. And not just figuratively speaking, but quite possibly in a very physical sense, too. "But as much as I'm _enjoying_ this talk, I need to go. Later, Lind."

It was after Urd left the room that Lind let out a breath that she didn't know she held, for so long that if she had been a mortal, she would've been dead by now. 'Stupid… Why did I say something that stupid? What's wrong with my head at times? _Why?_ '

XXX

 _Nekomi, Earth_

When the spotlights bathed the stage with their blinding light, everyone's loud cheers took Keiichi by surprise. He was still wondering just why he didn't stay home and enjoy a long, nice nap, instead of being amidst a crowd of screaming fans -most of them teenagers- who acted as if this was a life changing experience. 'Sheesh! Look at them push and shove each other in the front rows. Calm down kids, it's just a concert…' However, when he glanced over at Megumi and found out that she was cheering as well, Keiichi's expression fell, remembering what his sister often called him; _joykill_. 'Am I really so boring after all? Come to think of it, outside of bikes and motorsports, I don't have many other things I like. Heck, even the older guys here are acting like everybody else. Except for me.'

Cheering louder than ever as the two lead singers walked into the stage, the crowd almost chanted their names, no matter how strange they sounded. Both of them were obviously foreigners and quite easy on the eye, too. Yet the moment the one with the darker hair addressed the audience, Keiichi was stunned to find out that she could speak Japanese, and quite fluently as well.

"Hi everyone! Hope you're ready to have some good time tonight!"

From what he could recall, that was Peorth. The more outgoing of the two lead singers of the group, Peorth appeared to enjoy the attention she was getting from her adoring fans, yet for some reason the same wasn't exactly true about the other brunette. No matter how much Belldandy tried to hide it, Keiichi found her charming yet reserved smile to be a rather fake one. Whatever the case might've been, Belldandy seemed to be forcing herself to act as if she was having a blast -which in Keiichi's opinion wasn't the truth- but in the end, he simply dismissed it as nothing really uncommon in the showbiz industry. 'Here I am, struggling to make a living, and people who earn more money a day than I make in a whole year, seem to be upset. Life's _so_ unfair!'

Still, the dark haired man couldn't help but feel somewhat sympathetic towards the disheartened Norn. She just didn't give off the vibe of a spoiled diva, whose biggest problem was which ridiculously expensive brand of clothes to pick, but a person who genuinely felt troubled about something. 'Maybe it's stress? From what I've heard, this is their biggest concert as of yet. Even I got pretty nervous at times, back when I took part in races for the Motor Club. And I was just an amateur!'

Meanwhile, the two women stepped closer to each other, and moved in almost perfect sync. Swaying their hips at the rhythm of their song's intro, it was more than enough to make the ungodly amount of glitter glued onto their stylized microdresses to fall off in what seemed like a technicolor snowfall. And as soon as they twirled around in preparation for their first line, the fake smile on Belldandy's face was replaced with a genuine one; even if it appeared more like a grin. For when the hem of their dresses rose from the motion, it became apparent that unlike _that guy's_ expectations, both of them wore bike shorts underneath. Which was exactly why Belldandy felt so pleased for coming up with something that utterly foiled that guy's attempt to bend their wills to his own perversions.

And as expected, no one made a huge deal about their appearances. Except for Aoshima of course, who watched the show from the live feed in the backstage, and noticed the clear sign of their defiance. Gritting his teeth, the averted his gaze from the wall mounted TV and looked around to find _their_ agent smiling back at him; albeit in a very sarcastic fashion, that did little to improve his mood. "Welsper! Who told them that they could modify their outfits without _my_ explicit permission?"

"They did?" Raising an eyebrow, the blonde demon stepped up to the four eyed mortal and crossed his arms as he pointedly stared at the screen. "Funny thing, but I can't tell what's the difference. Care to elaborate a bit, _mister Aoshima?_ " The name came out more as an insult than a proper way to refer to his current boss, which… the latter immediately picked and took a step back from the demon.

Loosening his tie around his neck -just in case- the vice president of Mishima Records tried to go back to his businessman persona. Not that it really made a huge difference with his deeply unpleasant character, but it might just help him avoid aggravating that demon to the point where he might consider offing him. After all, he knew all too well that regardless of his supposed importance in this whole plan, Aoshima was merely a pawn. One that could be easily replaced by another; and that was something he really didn't want. "It's merely my attention to detail. This is an important milestone in their singing career, and I want everything to go according to plan. Any improvisations can lead to substandard results, so that's why I'm adamant they follow orders."

' _Right…_ and I'm the Santa Claus. Keep trying you moron…' Rolling his eyes in disgust, Welsper retrieved his smartphone and went through his contacts list. "In that case, how about we ask Hagall-sama for her opinion on the subject?" Watching the mortal's face lose all color at the mention of the Daimakaicho's name, Welsper's lips curled up in a tiny smile, before he pocketed the phone and turned back to the TV screen without any further comments. Which did wonders to improve his mood, since the mere sight of Belldandy's lovely smile was more than enough to make him forget everything about that disgusting excuse of a man in the ugly green suit.

'Belldandy's so lucky to have me watch her back. I wonder if she would like to drink some tea with me, later during the after event party. I even got her favorite Darjeeling tea. Yes… that would be lovely.'

XXX

 _Niflheim_

"You're late." Without even turning to face the newcomer, the leader of all demonkind simply took a sip from her glass of mead and winced. 'How could she drink this stuff? It's not exactly strong but… blegh-' Expecting a witty remark from the most difficult of the former goddesses, Hagall found it strange that she was so quiet, and eventually her curiosity got the better of her.

Glancing over at the fuming Urd as she walked across her office, the blonde demoness couldn't help but stare at the hybrid's terrifying eyes; and for just a moment, it almost felt like she had seen a ghost. 'Hild-sama?…' Shaking her head, Hagall quickly dismissed the silly notion, knowing all too well that despite the resemblance between mother and daughter, this was clearly the latter. Even with all the jewelry she had given her, Urd was still distinguishable from Hild, and not just due to her markings.

Although she noticed the stare she was getting from her _boss_ , Urd merely ignored her and made a beeline for the mini bar on the far end of the room and grabbed a bottle of high quality Sake, before she headed over to Hagall's couch. And without any warning or even a single word, Urd simply plopped right next to the startled Daimakaicho. Still ignoring her, the Norn of the past opened her bottle and proceeded to take a swing from it, not even bothering to grab a glass for her.

"Uh… bad day?" asked the stunned Hagall, who had no idea what to make out of this kind of behavior. Normally the Norn would act in a reserved yet condescending manner; making it fairly obvious that she wished to do nothing with her. At least not more than it was expected of her, considering that participation in these 'meetings' was more or less mandatory.

"Yes." Taking another swing from her bottle, Urd leaned against the sofa, before she finally turned to face the blonde demoness who stared back at her with wide eyes. "What's wrong? Am I not cheerful enough for your liking? Just wait until I have a bottle or two and then I'll get much chirpier..."

Blinking as she wasn't exactly expecting that response, Hagall wasn't sure if she was for real or this was a new way to get under her skin, since Urd had a tendency to come up with several creative methods to annoy her. Although this… this was something completely new, and for several long moments the Daimakaicho had no idea how to deal with the slightly inebriated Norn. "Hey, watch your mouth! Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Oh I do! Trust me on that!" said Urd with a sneer that slowly turned into a sarcastic laughter. "You're my mother's… _replacement goldfish._ " Urd's lips curled up in a sarcastic grin as she watched Hagall take a sharp breath that caused her cheeks to puff up. "Or… should I say a _puffer fish?_ You're _so cute_ like that!"

" _You insolent fool!_ " shouted Hagall right at the Norn's face, much to the latter's… indifference as she remained so impassive that made the Daimakaicho pause and wonder if she was deliberately testing her limits. As much as she'd love to put Urd back in her place, Hagall knew that the hybrid was both physically and magically more powerful than her. Which meant that if they got in a fight, Hagall would have to rely on her guards to subdue the half demoness, and in the process make herself look weak not only in front of them, but also to everyone else in the whole complex. Not that she wouldn't do that if it came down to defend herself, but as long as Urd didn't get violent, she could take the verbal abuse; but not without returning the favor. "You think _you_ can do a better job at replacing your mother? Don't make me laugh, you frigging doormat! After so much time over at Asgard and you never made it past a second class license! For Hell's sake, you even turned down a promotion, too! Have you ever wondered how your mother felt about her daughter's potential being wasted like that?"

Visibly recoiling from a response she had never expected, Urd's was both shocked and angry at the same time. Although… she wasn't entirely sure as to who was mostly angry at; Hagall or herself. While it was more obvious that the blonde usurper was just messing up with her mind, at the same time, Urd couldn't help but wonder if there was some basis to her words or not. 'Don't listen to her. She's lying… she's just lying…'

"What's up? Cat caught your tongue?" Content that she got under her skin, instead of the other way around, Hagall remained silent as she regained her composure, before carrying on with her verbal assault. "Laugh at me as much as you want, but deep down, you should know what the truth really is. I've done way more for your mother than you ever did. Even after coming all the way to help you with Belldandy's situation back when she was affected by that virus, you came up with some bullshit reason just to spite her. And all she wanted was to call her _mother!_ "

" _Shut your filthy trap!_ I _said there was a reason didn't I?_ " shouted the Norn, clenching her hands so hard that her palms started to hurt. "And what's with your attitude too? _You're_ the one who _sealed_ my mother, and you've got the nerve to give _me_ a lecture? _Screw you!_ "

In all honesty, as much as she wished to respond in kind, Hagall held her tongue, as she wasn't certain whether the Norn was ready to learn about her mother's inevitable fate or not. As demanded by the demonic law, by the time the Daimakaicho's term expires, so does their lives, too. And with Hild's term mere years from coming to an end, Hagall just _had_ to step in and stage a coup. It was the only way she could think that would prevent Hild's death, and hopefully carry on her mentor's vision for the ideal demonic world. However, Hagall also knew her shortcomings, especially when it came to her own strength, leaving her with no delusions of replacing Hild in any meaningful way. From that perspective, Urd was indeed correct in calling her a _replacement goldfish_ , no matter how much she hated that term. Which was exactly why she hoped that over time, Urd would gradually open up to the idea of seeking a career in Niflheim.

Funding the Norn's casino may had initially sounded as a pointless investment to her, but the whole goal was to place Urd in the demonic power ladder and out of competitiveness, she should eventually wish for more. Such was the nature of a demoness, and with Urd being a naturally born hybrid, it was a matter of time before that part of her personality took over and urge her to gain a better social status. Not that she had any delusions of Urd joining forces with her, but as long as she kept her motivated enough to covet her position, Hagall knew that one day, someone as worthy as Hild would become the next Daimakaicho.

Unfortunately for Hagall though, her plan didn't seem to work at all. Even if she got Urd to open a business in the Lower Levels, the Norn seemed too focused on her current business to show the same insatiable desire for more, which brought everything to a halt. Then again, it may had been a bit too naive to assume that the half demoness would acclimate in her new environment in such a short period of time, especially while her younger sister shared her fate as well. Even if she tried to appease her by offering Belldandy and Peorth a comfortable lifestyle with respectable jobs and decent housing arrangements, it still proved insufficient to make the half demoness reconsider.

After what felt like an eternity to her, even though it was mere seconds, Hagall let out a sigh and turned to look at the TV; doing her best to cut this conversation short. "You're not the only one who had a reason to act the way she did. However, that's not something for you to learn at the time being. As the Daimakaicho, it's my duty to keep certain matters from the general population and I've got no desire to make an exception for you." Truth to be told, Hagall was genuinely scared at the idea of letting Urd know the actual reason behind her coup. She had more than enough trouble to handle the Norn's temperamental nature, and telling her that her mother was on her last few years of life… could send her over the deep end. And _that_ would be a disaster far greater than the somewhat embarrassing start of Hagall's career as the Daimakaicho.

Neither of them said much after that point, as it became apparent that anything more would've resulted in an all out fight between them; one without a clear winner, since both demonesses had more to lose than gain from such a confrontation. So the only thing they could was to tolerate each other's presence, and keep drinking while watching the concert on the TV.

Until both women simply fell asleep.

XXX

 _The Great Desert, Muspelheim_

Emergencies were merely part of the routine for the denizens of the fire realm, with the occasional sand dragon getting too close to their territory or even a volcanic eruption taking place somewhere in the vicinity of the capital city of Muspelheim. Those were things one would inevitably get used to and no longer make a big deal about them; however, intruders were a totally different matter altogether.

" _Hey, let go of me, you asshat!_ "

The angry snarl coming from the captured goddess made Surt shake his head as he approached the desert oasis where his patrol ran into the trespasser, and immediately informed him about the incident. 'What the Hell is going on here? I never thought that they'd send a kid, let alone without telling me beforehand.'

Tugging her arm free, Skuld put some distance between herself and the demoness who caught her, cursing quietly under her breath. Yet once she noticed the realm's commander approach their position, the Norn decided to focus on her task at hand, instead of getting sidetracked. "So, you're the head honcho here?" asked the not so young looking Norn, as she walked in Surt's direction, causing him to stop and give her a long stare.

"So, you're the _brat_ who entered my realm without permission?" countered the dark haired demon, trying not to laugh when the goddess' face started to turn red, yet she refused to let her temper get a hold of herself. "What? You thought I'd fooled by your disguise, _miss grownup?_ "

"Eyes up mister! I'm not looking like this to make pervs like you happy!" spat Skuld as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'm only in my adult form to boost my physical strength and kick your ass if I have to!"

'Ugh… and that's why I don't like dealing with kids…' Rubbing his temples as he started to run out of patience, Surt gave Skuld a rather chilling glare to hopefully bring her out her little fantasies and back to harsh reality. "Now listen to me kiddo, since I don't like repeating myself. No one is impressed by your appearance, given what most demonesses here look like. And as for your alleged fighting skills?... Say anything like that again, and I'll send you crying back to your mommy," snarled the leader of Muspelheim, poking Skuld's nose with a finger. "Now cut the crap and tell me why you're here, or get out of my face!"

'Sheesh, how rude!' Narrowing her eyes in defiance, Skuld didn't seem to be nearly as intimidated as anybody else in her place would've normally been. At the same time however, she was also aware that pushing her luck even further was unwise, and decided to do as being told and get straight to the point. "I need some help to get Belldandy and Peorth back. They've been on the mortal realm for a while now, and I'm tired sick of waiting for the _right time_ to do that."

'Well look at that, she didn't break down crying. Maybe she's indeed her mother's daughter.' Smirking slightly, but not enough to let her notice that he was actually impressed, Surt kept his tone as level as possible; and even gave the goddess a casual shrug. "So? What does that have to do with me? You should be able to get to the mortal realm all by yourself."

"Yes, I should, but nowhere close to them without getting myself caught," said the Norn of the future with a frustrated sigh. "I even tried to come up with countermeasures to let me get close enough to them, but it's hard to test my contraptions when my mom keeps monitoring my every move…"

"Like _now_ , for example?" said Surt with a slightly sarcastic, yet amused tone. "What? Did you just tell her that you're going to Muspelheim for candy and she's fine with that? Just go back to your mommy, before she makes a huge commotion about you loitering around my realm."

Letting out a grumble, Skuld made a mental note that her current adversary was a bit more observant than she had given him credit for. "Alright, you got me there, but... it took me ages just to manage to get here. I don't have the time to do all the research and testing for my stealth suits. By the time I finish, Belldandy and Peorth might not even be on Midgard anymore! So, I thought you could give me a hand instead."

"I may be repeating myself here, but this whole thing has nothing to do with me," insisted Surt, cursing his luck that despite her appearance, the Norn was a kid. Meaning that he couldn't just kick her out of his realm, especially if went straight to her parents and made a huge fuss about it.

"Oh really now? Are you sure about that?" said Skuld in a teasing manner, causing the lord of Muspelheim to stare her in surprise, considering that once again this wasn't the response one would've expected of her. "Let's get to the point, okay? Neither of us is a huge fan of the current Daimakaicho, but the longer you wait, the more likely it is for her so called plan to actually work! And then, how many demons would actually support any attempts to depose Hagall? _Well?_ "

"Not many…" admitted Surt. No matter how much he hated it, there was no way to deny the fact that this time, the brat was right. For the last few years they've been procrastinating for the celestials to find a solution on how to turn the former goddesses back to their original state. And in the meanwhile they allowed the demonic population to get used to current state of things, which could turn into a serious problem if Hagall somehow manages to recover from her early blunders and restores her reputation among the masses. "Still, I cannot do much without breaking the Daimakaicho's explicit orders of not interfering with her business in the mortal realm. Even if I help you get there, I cannot do anything beyond that, and without any proper support, you'll suffer the same fate as your sisters. And it's going to infuriate your parents to the point where any chances for a combined effort to restore Hild will be all but impossible. Is _that_ what you want?"

"No…"

"Then go back home, and come up with a better plan. The whole problem started when your sisters and the other goddesses jumped into the whole situation without thinking twice about it, and look how it turned out," said Surt with a shake of his head. "Unless you want to end up like them, try a bit harder to come up with something that might work. _Then_ we can see if I can do anything to help you."

Dejected, the Norn was about to give up and leave, as it became more than apparent that she was simply wasting her time here. Of course, part of her mind agreed with the demon's logic, given that it was pretty reckless of her to just jump in there and try to get Belldandy back. And even if that plan somehow worked, there was still Urd and Lind to worry about, given that they lived in Niflheim. However as she walked towards the abandoned Gate room, Skuld came to a stop when she realized that there was still something she could do while here. "Hey… you do have access to feedback from Belldandy's activities on Earth, right?"

"Huh? Of course I do. Actually… what prevents you from doing the same thing?"

"My father," came the almost immediate response. "He regulates all access to Belldandy's activities on Earth, and the same thing goes for Peorth too. I know that he's monitoring them, and mother does it too, but _I_ don't have access and it's driving me nuts! Can you at least let me see what's going on there, or is this a bad idea too?"

There was a clear hint of sarcasm in Skuld's voice -especially towards the end- but Surt chose to ignore that. After all, picking a fight with _a kid_ wasn't fitting for a demon of his standing, regardless of the goddess' outward appearance at the moment. "No, that's fine, although it would be for the best if we don't take you back to the city. So, if you really want to check on your sister then we need to do that here." Reaching into his combat uniform, Surt produced his personal communicator and offered it to Skuld, who wouldn't care any less about her surroundings, as long as she got to watch her sister, and grabbed the device almost as if it was the most important thing in the world.

" _Sure thing! Now, gimme that!_ "

XXX

 _Nekomi, Earth_

For the longest time in the last couple of years, Keiichi couldn't believe luck. The coupon his sister had gotten from her friend turned out to be a winner; and that by itself was quite funny, given that its serial number was 131313. Which incorporated the supposedly unluckiest number in the world, three times over, and something Keiichi even joked about when he first got the aforementioned coupon from Megumi.

'I don't believe it! I won an invitation for the after event party, and I'm not even a fan! Boy… some of the others back in the stadium would've killed me to get their hands on this thing.'

Standing outside the five star hotel where the party was going to be held, Keiichi couldn't help but feel really out of his league. Here he was, wearing the most casual blue jeans with a white t-shirt and a pretty weathered leather jacket, while everyone else entering the hotel were in formal attire. And not just that, but most of them wore things that would've cost him nearly half his annual income to buy; which only made him feel more awkward about the whole situation.

Still, as the special guest of the night, Keiichi wasn't really expected to wear anything too formal, and the representative he talked to at the front door even reassured him that he could just walk in the way he was. Yet the primary problem his mind was _why_ he was here in the first place. Sure, he may have won a lottery that allowed him to potentially meet two celebrities, but then again, he knew almost nothing about them. Other than the fact that they were incredibly attractive and even talented singers, there was a surprisingly lack of information about Belldandy and Peorth's background. Even the most avid fans of theirs couldn't quite answer some of the simplest questions about the duo, like where did they come from or how did they got to work for Mishima Records. As a matter of fact, Keiichi vaguely remembered watching a tabloid show on the TV about them the other day, where some journalists tried to dig into the Rose Witches' past and came up with pretty much nothing at all. Of course back then, he would've never dreamt of meeting them in person, nor that he was all that interested either, so he barely paid much attention to the show.

Deciding that he spent enough time loitering around outside the hotel, Keiichi mustered the courage to walk inside, trying his best to ignore the occasional glance he got from the rest of the guest; the much more affluent guests, who stared at him with a mixture of pity and in some cases even contempt. It didn't bother him the least though, as he was amidst Nekomi's elite and such a reaction was expected to a degree. Especially from the youngest among them, who also happened to be the snobbiest of them all, since they owned their fortunes to their parents and had no idea how privileged they were.

Which is exactly why Keiichi had no desire to do anything with that lot and simply went for the buffet, hoping to find something really delicious to eat that wasn't instant noodles, or the cheap packed lunches from a convenient store.

'Hey, if life gives you lemons, you may as well make lemonade.'

XXX

"My… you both did an exceptional job, girls. I'm very pleased with you two."

Polite as she was, Sayoko's words of encouragement did little to improve Belldandy and Peorth's moods, as they've spent most of the last half hour to find a convenient excuse to ditch Aoshima somewhere. That guy was relentless, demanding explanations over the most insignificant of matters, as if it was the gravest of offenses. Which in reality had more to do with his wounded ego than any of the excused he came up with, that sounded totally preposterous. Until… Peorth more or less declared that her well sculpted rear was far too glorious for the average couch potato to see on national TV, and ended the entire conversation with the always classic, middle finger.

"The pleasure is all ours," proclaimed Peorth, given that Belldandy wasn't particularly eager to partake in social events under these circumstances. Not that she really blamed her, as the whole thing was just a thinly veiled victory parade on the demons' part, with both of them displayed like trophies. And with mortals like _that guy_ around, it was no wonder that the Norn wished to do nothing with them. At the very least, this Sayoko character seemed rather decent, even though she could come out a bit too arrogant at times. Still, she was nowhere as bad as her cousin, or the _oh so obvious fanboy_ of Belldandy's; Welsper.

"Glad to hear that, Peorth. But now you'll have to excuse me," said Sayoko as she looked in the direction of the gathered journalists. "I need to go and talk to the press, so, I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the night."

"Of course," said Peorth, even though she privately doubted that, but as soon as the rich woman walked away, the choking sound coming from Belldandy caught her attention. And just as she turned to properly face her only friend in this goddess forsaken place, Peorth ended up in the Norn's line of fire, when the latter sent the alcohol in her mouth airborne. "Belldandy… we're pop idols, not fountain statues," said Peorth in disgust as she felt her right eyebrow twitch in annoyance, while champagne dripped from her chin. "Yet for Odin's granddaughter to not be able to handle champagne… What's the problem? Too fizzy for your taste?"

Shaking her head vehemently, Belldandy tried to recover for long enough to properly apologize, yet all she could in the meantime was to point in a certain direction. " _Mmph!_ "

Raising an eyebrow, Peorth glanced over at what the Norn was indicating at and then stopped; and stared. " _Hello there!_ Isn't he that Keiichi boy?"

" _Yes!_ " answered the stunned Norn as she still couldn't believe her eyes. "B-But… what is _he_ doing here?" wondered the incredulous Norn out loud, nervously biting her lower lip. Part of her wanted to just rush over to the buffet where her not so secret crush was and try to talk to him, while another part wished to find a place to hide.

Once she cleaned herself with a quick spell, making sure that no one saw her do that, Peorth turned her attention back to Belldandy. She studied the Norn's face, and while it was normal for her to display some hesitation to meet Keiichi, that indecisiveness was starting to get to her nerves. "What are you _waiting_ for? Just go and talk to him, girl!"

"I-I don't know… What if… No, I can't do that!" Belldandy shook her head as the nervousness turned into sheer terror at the prospect of meeting Keiichi, fearing all the things that could go wrong. This was completely different than any of the scenarios she had in mind, and not just because she was currently a demoness. At least as long as there was a wish involved, Belldandy had a way to introduce herself to him, considering that she had done that on numerous occasions with her previous customers, making matters a lot easier for her to start a conversation with him. "What am even supposed to say?"

" _Hello there, stud! You like what you see, sweetie pie? I've got lots more to show you..._ " said Peorth in a positively seductive tone, as a she run her hands along the sides of her black form fitting dress, making Belldandy to turn almost as red as her own dress.

" _Are you insane?! I can't say that!_ " protested the blushing Norn, only to growl when she noticed the gleam in Peorth's almond eyes. 'And here I thought that, neesan was bad…' Taking a step towards the grinning demoness, Belldandy scoffed at her mischievous friend, hoping that she would make her realize the gravity of the situation. "Stop that! I'm serious here, Peorth!"

"Oh, you think I'm joking, don't you?" Getting the rest of her champagne down in a single swig, Peorth handed the now empty glass to the confused Norn and licked her lips as she started in Keiichi's direction. "Watch the pro, Bell. I'll show you how it's properly done!"

"Show? Wha-... _Wait! Peorth! You're a pop idol, not a pop tart! Come back here!_ " Belldandy's voice cracked towards the end, as she hit an octave too high even for her to handle, yet her plea fell on deaf ears. Peorth strode confidently across the room, with Belldandy trying to catch up to her without attracting too much attention to the themselves, which proved to be a lot more difficult in the high heels she was currently wearing.

Meanwhile, the totally oblivious Keiichi was trying to choose between a chu a la creme and Turkish delight. 'Why am I worrying so much? It's not like anyone would say anything if I take both. Besides… most of the guests are filthy rich, so…' Putting one of each on his plate, Keiichi was amazed at how squishy and soft the latter of the two was and decided to take a bite, enjoying the sweet, rose scented delicacy, until he realized that there was someone standing right next to him. Thinking that he was getting in their way, Keiichi stepped aside, but when he felt the person follow him instead of taking something from the buffet, Keiichi turned to take a better look at whoever was that shadow in his peripheral vision, and simply stared. He even forgot about the Turkish delight that still hanging in his mouth, as the sight of Peorth blew his mind; and not just because of her great looks, but mainly due to the simple fact that a celebrity was _smiling at him_.

"Hello there, stud. You like what you see, sweetie pie?" said Peorth in a low, seductive purr, causing the mortal's eye to widen in an almost comical fashion. Yet years of experience helped the demoness maintain her expression, instead of bursting into laughter and ruining the mood in the process.

" _Mmph?!_ " Even though he could hardly talk with the Turkish delight still hanging from his lips, Keiichi had no idea what to say in a situation like this. As much as he was great with machines, the poor guy was hopeless with women, let alone with someone as rich and famous as the brunette standing in front of him was. He even looked frantically around for cameras or any indication that this was simply a staged prank, meant to get some cheap laughs out of the audience once they upload his reaction online. 'What's going on here?! Why is a woman like _her_ talking to _me?!_ '

'Aw!... look how cute he is! Belldandy sure found a good one!' Unable to resist for much longer, Peorth leaned in and took a bite of the rest of Turkish delight that was hanging from Keiichi's lips, almost inducing a heart attack to poor Keiichi when their lips got less than an inch from each other. 'Maybe I could steal a kiss? Just one little peck on-' Yet the demoness pulled back as fast as she could, when the fuming Norn of the present forcefully wedged herself between them. And if looks could kill, Peorth would've already been dead by now.

" _What do you think you're doing, you… you brazen, two timing hussy!_ " snarled Belldandy with the most hateful glare she could muster, at least without making her eyes glow like hot embers out of a blast furnace. " _You… YOU!…_ "

But Peorth moved faster than her fellow demoness and grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her around to face Keiichi, much to Belldandy's confusion. Especially as Peorth went on as if nothing out of the ordinary was taking place. "Oh, sweetie? You may already know us, but let me formally introduce you my best friend, Belldandy! And she's a _total_ sucker for cutie pies like you that she wouldn't stop telling me how much she wanted to meet you! But she's a bit of a shy, quiet girl, so go easy on her, tiger! _Rawr!_ "

Letting out a yelp when Peorth smacked her rump and then simply walked away, Belldandy looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Here she was alone with the man she had spent so much time watching from back when she was a goddess, and for the love of her life she had no idea how to handle this situation. Worse… that good for nothing friend of hers decided to move aside and simply watch them from afar, probably laughing her ass off at how uncomfortable the Norn was. "Um… h-hello there. N-Nice to meet you."

Munching onto the remaining of his Turkish delight, albeit mostly as a way to relieve his stress, Keiichi's mind was on overdrive. He was still unconvinced that this wasn't just a cruel prank, or even a case of mistaken identity on their part. After all, thanks to his biker jacket and casual jeans, he could be taken as a member of a rock band, and perhaps that's why those celebrities tried to flirt with him. Surely a penniless and average looking guy like him wasn't interesting enough to attract the attention of such beautiful women, especially the one standing in front of him right now. "T-The pleasure is a-all mine, but… A-Are you s-sure I'm not someone e-else?"

"Someone else? Aren't you Morisato Keiichi?" asked Belldandy, before she mentally kicked herself for her blunder. But it was far too late to take back what she said, and sure enough, Keiichi's eyes widened at the sound of his name. 'Oh no! He hasn't introduced himself yet! I wasn't supposed to know his name! What am I going to do now?'

"Uh… yes, that's me," admitted the dark haired mortal as his initial confusion slowly turned into suspicion. 'Why does she even know my name? I'm pretty sure I've never met her in the past. And even then, why would she remember me?'

Belldandy almost felt desperate by now, given that the was no way to properly save herself from this blunder. By revealing too much information it was now obvious that telling him the truth would either make her look like a raving lunatic, or a creepy stalker; an accusation she vehemently refused to accept, but at this point, she didn't have the luxury of any more mistakes. And that's when she had an epiphany. "I knew it! You're the one who won the… second annual economy run race. In Shin Okamino raceway, if I'm not mistaken. Right?"

"That's me alright," said the stunned Keiichi, as his eyes widened in shock. That was one of the last times the Motor Club participated in a race, as their habit of spending all their budget on every race eventually became their undoing. But that was a totally different matter altogether. The important thing right now was that for whatever reason, Belldandy seemed to remember such an otherwise insignificant event. And not just that, but she also recalled his name by memory. "Did you attend the race?"

"No, but I did read about it, and I saw your photo from that day! I must say that I was really impressed by your performance!" said the excited Norn, trying to avoid telling the full truth behind those words, allowing him to think that she's referring to a newspaper or magazine article, and not her correspondence from Asgard, containing bits of his file. Still, it seemed to be more than enough to make him feel more at ease, since now he had a logical explanation about why she knew him, despite the fact that it must've been too overwhelming for Keiichi to deal with a fan.

"R-Really? I-I never had a-anyone s-say that to m-me before…" He knew that he was stammering and that his cheeks must've been red by now, given how accustomed he was to praise, yet Keiichi held his ground and avoided running away like an idiot. 'Oh my goodness! I've got a fan! A real life celebrity is my fan! I can't believe it! And… and she's smiling at me!'

"Aw, that's not fair," said the Norn as she stepped closer to the and took his hands in hers, before offering him a warm smile. "I honestly think that you deserved a lot more recognition, Keiichi-san. Can I call you, Keiichi-san?"

Yet the poor mortal was far too overwhelmed to offer anything other than a nod. Not even in the most dignified of ways, as his jaw almost dropped from having a gorgeous pop idol hold his hands in such an affectionate way, and the moment she pulled them close enough to barely brush her bosom, Keiichi's legs almost gave away. ' _Think pure thoughts! PURE THOUGHTS!_ '

"Well, since it's okay with you… I'm happy to meet you in person, _Kei-i-chi-san,_ " said Belldandy in a strangely innocent, yet positively suggestive tone that she had no idea where it came from, but she wasn't going to stop and ponder about it right now. ' _I-I'm flirting! Neesan, I'm really flirting!_ ' The elated Norn was so distracted by her own thoughts that it required a well aimed chocolate bit to her right temple to bring her back to reality; courtesy of Peorth who munched the rest of the chocolate covered cookie in the distance, and pointed at the teetering Keiichi. 'Uh oh… maybe I overdid it just a _little_ bit? Although it felt… good?' Deciding that it was vitally important to keep Keiichi conscious, Belldandy looked around for anything of use, and then her eyes spotted a delectable piece of apple pie. "Um… Keiichi-san, would you like some pie?"

"Oh… pie, that's nice," said the mortal as his brain was struggling to recover from his stupor, until he realized that the way he said that, sounded very much like the Japanese word _oppai_. ' _Did I just tell her that her breasts are nice?! The hell's wrong with me?!_ ' Yet, if Belldandy noticed, then she definitely made no comments and instead reached to grab a piece of apple pie.

"There you go, Keiichi-san!" said Belldandy with a soft giggle, causing the mortal's heart to beat like mad, as he reached to get the plate with the piece of apple pie.

"Thank you… um…" said Keiichi, pausing for a moment when he wasn't sure how to address her.

" _Belldandy,_ " offered the Norn, almost without any hesitation. "I'd prefer you call me just by name, as I'm tired of everyone calling me Belldandy-san these days."

"In that case, you can call me Keiichi, too," said the mortal with a slight smile, trying to calm his racing heart down.

"Maybe, but I really like the sound of that, Keiichi-san," said Belldandy with a giggle, and for the first time her markings gave off a slight pinkish glow, although Keiichi's attention was fixated to her blue eyes to notice. Thinking that it would've been far less awkward for him to eat while she watched him, Belldandy grabbed something for her and then stood in front of him with a plate of her own, her smile ever present in her face. "How about we hang around for the duration of this party?"

"Really? That would be… quite nice, actually," said the awestruck mortal, still having trouble accepting that a pop idol wanted to spend time with _him_. The very same guy that no woman wanted to date back in his college days, thinking him as nothing more than a motorhead with boring hobbies and crazy friends.

She was beaming. For the first time in the last two and a half years, Belldandy was genuinely smiling without a care in the world, regardless of whether she was a goddess or a demoness. None of that was important right now. All she cared for was to not let this golden opportunity to go wasted and spend as much time with Keiichi as she could possibly afford. And sharing a glance with Peorth who gave her a thumbs up, Belldandy turned back to Keiichi and nodded enthusiastically.

" _Yes!_ "

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

Joke or not, paraffin wax can be actually used as a substitute to certain types of fat, and was as a matter of fact used in WW2 Britain instead of butter or lard (even though it was a highly discouraged practice) due to food rationing. It should be noted that it's not a great idea.

Hagall's reasoning is primarily based on what she knew in the manga, so, as far as she's concerned it's valid. Of course that's not the full story, but at the very least it gives her a motivation similar to what she had in the manga, should things gotten her way.

Also, this isn't the end of this whole situation, as the next chapter will carry on from the last scene, instead of skipping the whole party. However, given how long the chapter already was, I decided not to try and make a ridiculously long chapter, so, the rest of the party will be featured on the next chapter.

Finally, given that the next chapter won't likely arrive until January, I'd like to wish everyone a happy holidays season and a happy new year!


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

As Belldandy soon found out, one the biggest downsides about being a celebrity was the sheer lack of privacy. Which never quite bothered her as much as it did now, given that she had to keep herself and Keiichi away from the paparazzi's cameras, yet not make her guards think that she was trying to find a way to escape. Even worse, she was almost certain that at some point, Welsper was bound to start looking for her, along with that blasted Aoshima who was still rather sore about the stunt she and Peorth pulled during their performance. Such improvisation was a clear sign of defiance and for a control freak to the likes of Aoshima, it was a punishable crime.

Still, Belldandy wasn't going to let him or the any of the others ruin her moment with Keiichi. This was the best thing that happened to her during those damnable two and a half years, and she had no desire to lose that as well. Thankfully it didn't require too many explanations to persuade Keiichi that it was better for them to find a secluded spot where they could talk without attracting too much attention to themselves. Regardless of what was happening to her, Belldandy wished to keep her personal story out of their discussion, as it would've not only been very hard for Keiichi to believe that she was an immortal, but even if he did, then the whole subject of her current predicament would ruin the mood for sure.

"Um… is it alright for you to leave the main hall? I mean… everyone is there for you and-"

"Please don't worry too much about it, Keiichi-san," said Belldandy as she looked around for any prying eyes. Satisfied that they were relatively alone with only the hotel's staff passing by the corridor, and even then most of the time they were far too busy to take notice of them, Belldandy could finally begin to relax. "I know it's a bit inconvenient, but… I suppose being a celebrity can be hard at times. The last thing I need is for anyone to take photos of us and… well, you know."

"Yeah, it's going to be all over the place in no time," said Keiichi with a sigh. In all honesty, he still didn't know why _she_ was so intent of talking to _him_. Especially to the point where she had to go out of her way to make sure that they've got some privacy too. He had no money, no connections and definitely no great looks. Although he wasn't exactly an eyesore either, just average in every sense of the word; and rather short too. Even if she was a fan of him back in his racing days, it still seemed rather odd, given that he wasn't exactly famous; far from it, actually. He and the rest of NIT's Motor Club gained a rather unflattering reputation thanks to Tamiya and Otaki's crazy antics, which made them quite unpopular even among the rest of the students. To think that a woman like Belldandy actually heard of them, let alone develop a fascination for such weirdos struck him as extremely odd.

"Let's not worry too much about it, though. So, where were we?... Oh, yes! So… have you graduated, Keiichi-san?" asked Belldandy, trying to find some way to break the ice, even though she actually knew the answer to that.

"Ah, yes I did. It was a few months ago, but I did manage to do it," said Keiichi before he nervously scratched his head. "Well… it kind of took me a bit longer though, since I've made a huge blunder. I had forgotten that I needed to pass two foreign language classes and then I kind of ended up spending a whole semester trying to…"

Belldandy nodded as she kept listening to Keiichi's story, occasionally offering a few encouraging words to keep him going. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it definitely felt much better to learn about his college days from Keiichi himself, instead of reading extracts from a data file. And while she already knew most of those things, she also learned about several incidents that were left out of those files, and sometimes it was those little details that made a difference. Things like Keiichi's struggle to keep the Motor Club open when they've basically run out of money, or how devastated he and the others were when everything came to an end as they simply lacked the funds to keep the club alive. More than anything though, she was impressed to find out that he didn't just act like most other humans would, by starting to blame the two eccentric directors of the club who more or less brought its demise thanks to their shenanigans.

Yet for a conversation to properly work, Belldandy had to provide some information about herself too. Which… was a lot harder than it seemed to be for the former goddess. Especially as she had no other option but to come up with a lot of excuses to hide her true nature, and while she could just lie about everything, Belldandy didn't find it appropriate. Demoness of not, she wished to tell Keiichi something other than the cover up story they've invented for the media. Which was that she and Peorth were from some forgotten village in Iceland, with an almost unpronounceable name, but it was not buried under a thick layer of ash thanks to a recent volcanic eruption. And somehow that pathetic excuse of a cover up story actually _worked_ , since no one appeared to look too much into it to realize that just how ridiculous it was. Perhaps the demons' Ultimate Force was behind this, in order to prevent the rest of the mortal world from learning about their true identities, but whatever the case was, Belldandy had other priorities right now.

"That sounds so sad though, I mean… losing the club must've been pretty hard for you, Keiichi-san."

"Yeah… it kind of was," said Keiichi as his shoulders slumped. "We've all worked hard to keep the club running, but in the end we simply ran out of cash. I still visit the clubhouse and make sure that it's in one piece, though. Who knows? Perhaps one day we can convince some students to reopen it."

"If you truly believe it, one day your dreams _will_ come true, Keiichi-san. Or… that's what I've been told anyway," said Belldandy as her smile started to disappear from her face. "I know that it's merely a nice thing to say. Just like when you wish someone to get well, even though you know that they've got a pretty serious ailment; one that they might not recover from. Yet even then, you really wish to put a smile on their face, and sometimes a kind word can do just that." The brunette paused to let out a sigh, and then realized that Keiichi was staring at her. Which made her a lot more self conscious about what she was saying. "Oh, I'm sorry about that… I didn't want to get all gloomy and-"

"No, it's alright, I kind of know what you mean." In all honesty, he was impressed to hear something like that from a pop idol. Most of the other examples in the industry he knew were really self centered and shallow individuals, and even those who approached such topics were mostly doing it out of their own depression. To see someone like Belldandy wish to help others was a pretty humbling experience for Keiichi, and in all honesty, it was becoming a rare trait regardless of someone's financial status. People these days were progressively more selfish, caring only for money and success, both of which he lacked. And perhaps that's what made him dislike those who had more than they really deserved; especially when they didn't earn it through their own hard work. "Um… can I ask you something, if it's alright with you?"

Tilting her head slightly, Belldandy was rather intrigued to find out what he wanted to know about her that made him this nervous. "Yes, what is it Keiichi-san?"

"Do you like singing?"

It seemed almost an innocent question, and something she's been asked on numerous occasions in those interviews for magazines and such. However, unlike all those faked answers, this time there was no need to hide the awful truth. "If you're asking about whether I like singing _in general…_ then yes, I absolutely do. But if you're asking about _my career_ , then…no, definitely not."

"Is this why you looked so sad on the stage?" asked Keiichi, almost without thinking, and something that he immediately came to regret. 'Way to go you moron. What kind of question was that? And then I wonder why I don't get popular with the ladies…'

Yet despite all odds, Belldandy's lips curled up slightly. "What can I say? I'm a terrible liar. Which is kind of a good thing, if you ask me." However, with that being said, the Norn tried to change the topic before anything too sensitive slipped her lips and in seriously scare Keiichi in the process. And even if he believed her, Belldandy had no desire to make him worry about her, since a mortal like him couldn't help her in any way. Perhaps… the one important thing he _could_ actually do was cheer her up, and that's exactly why she wished to keep talking to him. "Now, can I ask you one question as well?"

"Huh? Sure, thing…" said the baffled mortal, who was shocked to find out that she didn't call him an insensitive jerk for his previous question.

Fiddling a bit with her hair, Belldandy tried to come up with the best way to phrase what she meant to ask for a long time now. "Keiichi-san, is there something that you _really_ miss in your life?"

The nature of that question took Keiichi aback, despite the direction their discussion had taken. It was a really good question though, as Keiichi found himself wondering just what did he wish for in life anyways. Surely the first thing that came to his mind was his financial situation, but if he had to be honest with himself, money was just a means to an end, not the goal itself. The only problem was that he no idea what that goal was, let alone how to reach it. "Honestly? I'm not quite sure. Right now I'm really struggling to make a living for myself, and that pretty much leaves me with little time to think about what I want in my life. But if we talk about what I'm missing the most, I… don't know how to properly phrase it but… it would probably be understanding." Keiichi was almost certain that he made no sense and that, Belldandy would most definitely ask for an explanation, yet he was surprised when she actually nodded as if she totally understood what he said.

"That's true, Keiichi-san. Deep inside we're all social creatures and crave for others to accept us, but in order for that to happen, they first need to understand us. It's not always a matter of whether you're surrounded by people or not, as it's entirely possible to be amidst a crowd and yet feel as lonely as a hermit," said Belldandy, receiving a slow nod from the stunned Keiichi. "I often find myself being surrounded by many and yet none of them knows anything about _me_. They all have an idealized view of what I'm supposed to represent, which in most cases is supplemented with stereotypes and almost impossible expectations. To the point where in their eyes I'm more of a symbol than an actual person. And even when I try to show them my real personality, they tend to ignore it in favor of their idealized Belldandy. No, not many really understand me, even though they seem eager to be around me."

Even though she originally intended to refer to her current predicament, Belldandy couldn't help but notice that all the above also applied to most of her life. Even as a goddess, she was idolized as some sort of a role model, to the point where she often berated herself for not being the perfect goddess everyone wanted. 'How many times had I thought that _I'm not fit to be a proper goddess?_ As if all the other first class goddesses were some paragons of righteousness, let alone the rest of the celestials, each with their own shortcomings. And yet I somehow allowed their silly expectations to become so important for my own self image that I ended up rejecting aspects of my personality, because it didn't fit that perfect image. No, I don't want to just go back to Asgard; I want my life back!'

"I cannot even imagine what it must be for you with the media paying so much attention to your every move, yet completely disregard that you're a person of your own." For his part, Keiichi was blissfully unaware of all that, and merely assumed that the main course of Belldandy's concerns were due the nature of her deluded fans, who more or less objectified her as some kind of merchandise instead of a person. Still, that also gave him an opportunity to rethink his own answer and try to better explain what he initially failed to do. "Even though my problems seem like a joke compared to yours, I also want for those around me to better understand me. For the longest time, I've been plain and simply… an oddball. I've always been a dork who refused to follow the latest trends and wasted all my free time on hobbies that no one aside my close relatives understood. Even to this date I own a dumb phone and a CRT TV, along with a bunch of other retro stuff that according to some, belong to a museum. Heck, I've lost contact with some of the people I knew from my college days, since I don't have any social media accounts to keep tabs with them. I suppose the only people who actually understood me were the members of the Motor Club, but once we lost the club, I dunno… I haven't really made any other friends since then."

No matter how much Belldandy wanted to tell Keiichi that _she_ understood him, considering that they've just met, she knew that it would've made him feel too awkward. She was still a stranger to him, and to a certain degree even Belldandy was starting to question whether the image she had about him was as distorted as what her own fans though about her. Back then, she was deluding herself into thinking that granting him a wish was all that he needed. That if she gave him a career in the racing industry or something else that had to do with motorcycles -his favorite hobby- that would magically change his life in an instant, and make Keiichi happy in the process. Yet Belldandy came to realize how naively optimistic she really was. Even if she gave him all that, Keiichi would've felt as lonely as he was right now; how _she_ was feeling right now. "I really think that you may be a bit too hard on yourself, but at the same time, I can totally relate. Sometimes you try to follow popular trends to make others like you, but beyond a certain point, it might become a fallacy. While it's great to experience new things and learn whatever might help you become a better person, you shouldn't forgone the good qualities you already possess. Even if those no longer seem to be popular, as long as they represent a great aspect of your personality, sooner or later someone's bound to appreciate them."

"You think so?"

"I _know_ so," said Belldandy adding more stress to make her point. "I can already tell that you're the kind of person I'd like to have as a friend, instead of most of those _socialites_ attending the party. I don't care how popular or important they think they are, I just don't like being around them."

"Is this why you're hanging around with me, then?" No matter how much he wished to avoid this subject, Keiichi's curiosity was piqued by that whole conversation. He still had some doubts about Belldandy being a fan, although he now knew that most of his initial concerns were baseless. It seemed that Belldandy wasn't anything like the average celebrity, with an overinflated ego and a princess-like and aloof personality. Or rather… she wasn't Sayoko Mishima, who much to his own shame tried to ask out years ago, only to be shot down and in a rather humiliating fashion, when Sayoko laughed at his idea of a dating proposal. Admittedly, her was partially to blame too, as asking out the most famous and rich woman of the whole campus was clearly way above his abilities.

"Yes, that's kind of true. I greatly appreciate honest people over self absorbed egotists," said Belldandy with a slight nod. 'That and you're really cute too.' Of course voicing such thoughts was out of question, yet even if she did try to flirt with him in a much more aggressive manner, Belldandy had no idea how far they could go, at least given the circumstances. The last thing she wanted was to string the poor guy along, only to be forced to leave him behind once she had to go on that tour she heard Sayoko talk about a couple of weeks ago. And even if Keiichi could somehow tag along, she still had her doubts that the others were going to let her date him.

"Thank you, that really means a lot to me," said Keiichi with a smile, as he wasn't exactly used to such praise.

"There's no need to thank me, Keiichi-san. I merely spoke the truth." As much as it felt satisfying to make him happy, Belldandy couldn't help but find this unfulfilling. She was standing in front of the man she wished so much to meet for all these years, and in the end the best she could do was offer a few praises. Even though she now knew that a wish wasn't going to magically solve all his problems, it would've still offer him a lot more than a couple of nice words. More surprising yet was the fact that she too wished for something more, which didn't sound like her old self at all. No first class goddess would ever put her own desires above those of her client's, which simply meant that manipulating his choice of a wish to gain something out of it was totally unacceptable and even a punishable offense. For a demoness on the other hand… everything was fair game, at least as long as she didn't break any important rules. And there was nothing dictating that she wasn't allowed to date a mortal. "Now speaking of truth… I fear that spending the rest of the night in this corridor is hardly ideal. Unfortunately, going back into the main hall isn't exactly a much better option either, since it could attract a lot of unnecessary attention, so… would you mind coming to my suite? We should have some privacy there."

Although Belldandy's request made perfect sense to Keiichi, it still proved to be more than enough to put him on edge. No matter how casual Belldandy tried to sound, it was kind of obvious to him that she was a bit more friendly than most people would be towards someone they just met. And while they did spend a few minutes talking about his past endeavors at NIT, that was far from enough to consider each other as friends, let alone more than that. After all, he just met her and the idea of progressing things so fast was too much for someone as shy as him to handle. 'Then again… who says that she wants to flirt with me? I've jumped into conclusions before, when I found a letter in my locker and thought that it was a love letter, when in reality it was just from a friend.' Deciding against making a fool of himself again, Keiichi offered Belldandy a slow nod. "That would be nice, yes."

Smiling widely, the excited Belldandy reached for the mortal's hand and then started to drag him along. "Excellent! Then follow me, Keiichi-san! It's this way!"

XXX

 _Niflheim_

Not wanting to miss the opportunity to have a talk with that demon friend of Peorth's, Lind decided to swallow her pride and visit him in his workspace, instead of waiting to ambush him after his shift was over. Which unfortunately meant that she had to show up there as a client, as forcing her way in was bound to attract a tad too much attention to herself.

Taking a deep breath, Lind stepped up to the bouncer who gave her a slow nod, before he moved aside and allowed the demoness to enter the club. At least she had changed herself in her new purple combat uniform, which given its visual appeal allowed the former Valkyrie to fit into this place a lot easier, and the shades she constantly had on, prevented others from seeing how uncomfortable she actually was.

Truth to be told, the moment Lind caught a glimpse of the stripper's acrobatic performance, she was torn between feeling impressed by the fluidity of the demoness' moves, and the urge to simply turn around a make a beeline for the exit. Still, with her target nowhere in sight, Lind decided against of leaving so soon, and simply walked towards the closest empty seat she could find. Most people in the Lower Levels knew about the former Valkyrie and although the bouncer allowed her to enter, she had no delusions that the whole security team was alerted about her presence. And while a bunch of amateurs were nothing to worry about, stirring up trouble was likely to attract the attention of her guards too, who most certainly tailed her wherever she went. Which simply meant that she had to be discreet, at least until she got sight of Kaun.

Unfortunately for Lind, being discreet meant that she had to sit and watch the show; or at least pretend to, since her sunglasses proved to be really helpful in a situation like this. Glancing around the room as carefully as she could, Lind hoped that at some point she was going to find that blasted demon among the crowd. But after wasting a good couple of minutes, Lind was starting to become impatient from the sheer inefficiency of this whole approach. Which… didn't come as a huge surprise to her, given that Lind mostly specialized in more straightforward methods of accomplishing her goals; namely… search and destroy.

And that's exactly what she was about to do, when a shadow got into her field of view and before she even got to turn and face the newcomer, Lind felt that person take a seat on her lap. " _What do you think you're doing?_ "

Ignoring the warrior's protest at the obvious intrusion of her personal space, the auburn haired demoness smiled at Lind, and even went as far as to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "Hello to you too, sweetheart! I'm so happy to see such a lovely lady attend my performance. And since you're a new face, allow me to introduce myself! I'm Fehu-"

" _I think I've asked you a question!_ " snarled Lind as she tried to recover from the demoness' audacity. And given this the auburn haired bombshell wasn't shy to perform a strip dance in front of an audience, Lind feared that she was dealing with someone _far worse_ than Urd and Peorth put together. Thankfully though, she did put her clothes back on, which were surprisingly modest for someone like her, since the black and purple bodysuit this demoness wore left only a minimal amount of skin exposed. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for the otherwise flimsy material of that bodysuit, Lind could've easily mistaken it for a somewhat customized combat uniform.

Letting out an over dramatic sigh, the demoness tutted Lind. "Don't be so rude, girl. I'm trying to keep you out of trouble. You're making everyone here nervous with the way you kept scanning the room from side to side. Seriously, if you start talking with an Austrian accent, you'll be exactly like that beefed up dude from that movie. What was it… the Exterminator? No… it was something similar…"

If Lind had any idea what the demoness was talking about, then she definitely did a great job at feigning ignorance. "Are you trying to tell me that I'm too obvious?"

"Why, yes I do! Although, that's what makes you almost irresistible," cooed Fehu, before she leaned forward to plant a kiss on poor Lind's lips; or at least tried to, as the warrior caught her by the throat.

"Don't you even think about it, harlot!" The warrior's eyes narrowed dangerously to make sure that she got the message across. Only then did she slowly ease off her grip around Fehu's throat, and while it may had been a bit of an overreaction, Lind was in no mood for practical jokes. Especially if they happened to be on her expense. "I'm not here to make out with floozies like you. So get lost, before before you actually manage to piss me off."

"Okay, okay... I got it! There's no need to get violent." Taking a step back to put some distance between them and appease the blue haired demoness' need for personal space, Fehu tried a far less aggressive approach. "Please forgive my rudeness, but I really couldn't resist trying to kiss a goddess. I've never done that before."

"Are you trying to make amends or mock me?" asked Lind, giving her adversary a cold stare. "You know all too well that I'm a demoness now, and even if you didn't… _It's obvious when you look at me!_ " said Lind, pointing at her forehead markings.

"Even then, you still act like one," insisted Fehu, as she leaned closer and before Lind socked her one, she added. "Although I have to admit that those blue markings looked way better on you; these red ones… just doesn't fit you."

Raising an eyebrow, Lind briefly wondered if this was mere flattery, or perhaps that statement had also a hidden meaning. Since from a certain perspective it almost sounded as criticism for Hagall's idea to convert her and the others into demonesses, there was a possibility that Fehu was hinting something. After all, there were still more than enough supporters of the previous Daimakaicho and despite appearances, Lind could be staring at one of them. And given the circumstances, if Fehu remained loyal to Hild then perhaps she could become an asset for Urd. "Really? I wasn't expecting that from you, so I need to apologize from my harsh words."

"Nah… there's no need to explain yourself. Although, if you're in the mood of humoring me, then how about we continue this conversation in a more… private setting?" asked Fehu as she pointedly glanced in the direction of her room. "Don't worry, I merely wish to have a talk with you. That's all."

Lind seemed rather skeptical at Fehu's honesty, but at the same time, she did wish to find out if she could become an asset for them. "Very well, then. I'll take that offer."

XXX

 _Muspelheim_

Watching the starlight night sky wasn't exactly very high in Surt's list of favorite activities, but even he couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of the natural world; especially while sitting in front of a bonfire with a steaming cup of coffee to keep him warm. And while doing that in the middle of a desert required some improvisation to find an alternative source of flammable material, the peace and tranquility of the landscape made up for the copious amounts of plastic explosives that had to consumed to keep the fire going; at least until the marshmallows were done too. 'Ah… this kind of brings back memories… Just sitting in front of the fire, sharing stories, jokes and even throwing the occasional beer keg into the fire, just for the giggles. I kind of miss those carefree days, especially since I didn't have to worry about running this whole realm, or… babysitting someone else's bratty half pint.'

"W-W-What the Hell am I watching?!"

'Speak of the dev- I mean… goddess…' Letting out a groan, the leader of Muspelheim glanced over at Skuld, who was becoming increasingly vocal about how different the Belldandy in the video feed was, at least compared to how she remembered her. "Hey, pipe it down, kiddo! You're starting to give me a headache."

" _A headache?_ " shot Skuld back at the demon, as she got up from the spot she's been sulking for the last couple of minutes and marched towards the otherwise unconcerned lord of Muspelheim. " _My_ oneesama is… is suffering from.. being turned into a… a _loose woman_ and you're having a headache? Big deal, buster!"

"Look, demonic outfits are a bit more revealing than your average celestial attire. That doesn't necessarily mean that she suddenly all unhinged and-"

"No, I don't mean about her clothes. Especially since she's currently wearing earthly attires," said Skuld before she held the communicator right in front of Surt's face. "I mean about _this_ bloke! What's going on here? Why is Belldandy oneesama f-f-flirting with a guy?"

"Hm…" Squinting his eyes at the screen, Surt watched Belldandy drag a blushing Keiichi along the hotel's corridors, before he reached to grab the communicator from the Skuld's hands. "This is something adults do whenever they like each other. But either way… this is starting to get a bit too spicy for you, so gimme that!"

" _Hey, I'm not a kid!_ " protested Skuld, stomping her foot on the sand, as she desperately tried to contain her rage. "And what's up with that stupid excuse of a reply? You want me to buy that oneesama likes some random guy she just met?"

"Your parents did such an awesome job raising you…Or not." said Surt in a deadpan voice that did little to appease Skuld.

" _My parents didn't raise me at all!_ " shouted the young Norn right into the demon's face, before she tried to grab the communicator back from him. "Gimme that! I must make sure oneesama isn't… well…"

"Playing doctor with that guy?" suggested Surt with a grin, as he held the device just out of Skuld's reach. Unfortunately for him though, a few failed attempts later, the Norn decided to stop being nice and kneed him in the groin, creating enough of a distraction to grab the communicator out of his hands. " _Ow! You… you damned brat!_ Is this how a proper goddess is supposed to act?"

"Oh shuddup! It's not like a kiddo like me can hit you that hard!" Paying little attention to the fuming demon, Skuld turned her attention back to the video feed and frowned when she saw Belldandy's smile. 'Why is oneesama happy? She's clearly tricked by the demons to act like… like Urd whenever she's into _that_ mood. Oh no! Did they gave her a weird potion?'

Growling as he drank the rest of his coffee, the ruler of Muspelheim simply tossed the metallic mug over his head and walked up to the Norn. Picking her up by the back of her robes, Surt brought her closer to his face and gave her a warning glare. "Listen here you little punk… I've been patient with you, but I'm starting to think that sealing your sorry ass is way better than dealing with your attitude!"

" _MY_ attitude? Your friends turned my big sister into a pervert and you've got the nerve to talk to me like this? I should bomb your face, you brute!"

Narrowing his eyes at the goddess who stuck her tongue at him, Surt took another look at his communicator; just to see what was so wrong about Belldandy's behavior. And that's when he realized that the mortal with her was somewhat familiar to him, although it took him a while to recall where he had seen his face before. "Wait a second… Isn't that the guy your sister had a crush on?"

" _Huh?_ " was all Skuld could say at such an impossible statement. Just the mere idea of Belldandy having a crush on anyone was so foreign to Skuld that it took her a while to even register in her mind, and even then she adamantly refused to accept it. "No way! You're lying!"

"Nope. It was actually your mother who mentioned something about a guy that was in your sister's client list," said Surt as he furrowed his brows, trying to remember any details about him. "Uh… short with dark hair and thick eyebrows… or something like that. Can't say I was paying too much attention though."

" _You're lying! Oneesama… oneesama wouldn't..._ "

"Is there an echo here?" Letting out a groan, Surt felt tempted to tell her that the reason Ansuz told him about it, was to explain why he had pass a bunch of the mortal's profile printouts to Skrymir and from there to Belldandy herself. "Besides… what's so darn wrong with your sister having a crush on that bloke? Did you think that she was a lesbian or what?"

"No! I mean… I _think_ she's straight…" said Skuld with some hesitation, since she honestly haven't asked Belldandy about her preferences. "Still, that doesn't mean that she's all… all…"

"Look, kid. If your sister likes someone to the point that she's acting like that even though she's a demoness, then don't even try to argue about it. She's got it bad, and that's the end of the story. So, if you can't beat them… join them instead."

" _Ew!... No, no, no! That's so wrong!_ "

"Not like _that_ you numbskull!" Letting the Norn down, Surt pointed at the communicator's screen to draw Skuld's attention to it. "What I meant is that if she's happy being with the bloke, then try to be the supportive sister, instead of a royal pain in the butt. After all, it's not like they're going to spent the rest of eternity in a bedroom. At some point they'll have to interact with others, and a helpful sister should be on top of the list."

That made Skuld go silent for a while, as she realized that as different as this approach was from Belldandy's life lessons, it didn't necessarily mean that didn't work. If nothing else, Skuld had grown up with two sisters that couldn't be more different and not just in terms of appearance, but also mentality. And while she associated Urd's methods with the word _failure_ , considering that whenever most of her eldest sister's schemes ended up in one fiasco or another, Skuld had no doubt that if _properly_ executed those schemes should be quite effective indeed. Not that a proper goddess should consider such options to get what she wanted, but… given her upbringing, Skuld didn't necessarily view alternative methods as being inherently evil just by themselves. "How… am I supposed to help them, though?"

"Not by going over there on your own, that's for sure. On the other hand, while I don't know exactly what your parents are planning, they're likely going to approach Belldandy at some point or another. And as long as they know that you can be trusted to act in a responsible manner, that job is as good as yours. _That's_ how you can help."

Skuld furrowed her brows in thought, as she considered her options and much to her chagrin she had to admit that antagonizing Belldandy was the last thing she needed to do. Even if it meant that she had to help a _guy_ get closer to her beloved sister. 'After all, it's like those manga I read, right? She fell in love with some… uh… everyday dork who's not all too good at expressing his feelings and really indecisive, and maybe even a bit of a perv but doesn't actually have the guts to do anything. Then am I supposed to help him do this and that and the other thing with oneesama? _Argh! I cannot do it!_ Taking in a few deep breaths to calm herself down, Skuld noticed the slight smirk on the demon's face as he watched her moment of internal conflict. He was most likely judging her and probably expecting her to throw in an immature fit of anger any time now. Even if she didn't know him personally -or any other demon for that matter- it was the same expression Urd had whenever she was trolling her, and for once, Skuld wanted to prove them wrong. "Piece of cake! Just you watch! I'll get so helpful that it won't be even funny!"

"That's the spirit kiddo!" said Surt, patting the goddess' head, just because he knew it was going to annoy her; and judging by the dirty look he was getting from Skuld, he was absolutely right. "So… when are you gonna go back to your mommy? This isn't a kindergarten you know."

" _I'm not a kindergartener!_ "

XXX

 _Earth_

Doing her best not to act too suspiciously, Peorth casually continued her 'patrol' in the main hall, moving from the bar to the buffet in hopes of keeping an eye at the corridor Belldandy and Keiichi hid at. Thankfully most of the reporters were still interviewing Sayoko, who absolutely loved all the attention she was getting from them, yet she was far from their greatest concern. As a matter of fact one of those aforementioned concerns was heading straight for her, which prompted Peorth to do her best and smile at the otherwise annoying demon. "Ah, Welsper! I wondered where you've been…"

"Actually, that should be my line. I've spent the last fifteen minutes trying to find where you and Belldandy disappeared to," said Welsper, but after a quick glance around, it immediately became obvious to him that Peorth was actually alone. There was no sight of the lovely Belldandy anywhere and that started to look somewhat odd to the demon, considering that those two normally preferred to stick together in such events. "And speaking of Belldandy… where _is_ she?"

"She went back to our room in order to make some modifications to her dress. You know all too well that we can't do that in front of mortals, and that's also why she's taking her time." Being a convincing liar was an essential skill for any demoness, and Peorth was no exception. Even though it took her a while to learn the fine art of deception, with her background as a first class goddess doing little to help in that department, Peorth was capable of fooling most people with her friendly and even flirty attitude.

Of course there were some exceptions, and unfortunately Welsper was one of those who could see through her deception, but for the time being he had no desire to challenge her claims right in front of their mortal guests. He was going to find Belldandy on his own, and knowing that Peorth would likely try to get in his way, Welsper did his best to play along. "Oh, is that it? I'm glad to hear that everything's fine. And if that's the case, you'll have to excuse me. As your manager I've got a pretty busy schedule tonight."

Offering nothing more than a smile, Peorth watched the blonde demon walk away from her. But no matter how much she wanted to let out a sigh of relief, the brunette demoness knew that this was far from over. Even at best, the only thing she managed was buy them some time, since Welsper's eagerness to accept her cover up story was far too suspicious. 'Now what? If I try to warn Belldandy, it's likely that I'm going to give away her position; providing that I do find her in the first place. Better go around the corridor and approach her in a less direct manner, should he tries to follow me.'

The moment Peorth took off to warn Belldandy about the potential threat, a bespectacled man walked out of his hiding place next to one of the hall's support columns. Holding a Martini in one hand -now almost half empty- he reached with the other into his jacket to grab his smartphone. "This is me. Do me a favor and come up with something to keep that slut busy; I don't care what. I've got some unfinished business to take care of, now that our _miss innocence_ is on her own." Grinning slightly as he pocketed his phone, Aoshima was pleased that his idea of installing spy cameras around their room paid off. Not only did he receive a heads up from his associates that Belldandy was in there with a guy, but he could use that to his own advantage.

'All in all, it's a win-win situation for me, and I can always blackmail her to get what I want. Heh… this is going to be like stealing candy from a baby.'

XXX

"Here we are, Keiichi-san. Please make yourself comfortable."

No matter how warm and soothing the brunette's voice was, Keiichi's mind just couldn't help but ignore the simple fact that he was in a girl's room. And for the first time ever, that didn't happen to be his sister's room, but that of an unrelated and quite attractive woman too. 'Alright, don't bomb this, Morisato... Stay focused…'

"Keiichi-san?"

" _Wha-?_ " Nearly jumping when he saw Belldandy's concerned eyes mere inches away from his, Keiichi's mind struggled to recover from what most likely a panic attack in the making.

"Are you feeling alright?" Furrowing her brows in worry, Belldandy actually knew the answer to that, although she hoped that she could make him snap out of it. 'He's not used being around women, and whether demoness or goddess, I suppose I count as well. What am I to do now? His aura is getting all pinkish and… yellow?'

"I'm just fine!" said Keiichi with a nervous chuckle, not only to assure Belldandy but also himself. He was far from fine, as his knees felt surprisingly unstable all of a sudden and his cheeks flared up in what was definitely a quite visible blush. "Um… what should we do know?"

If this didn't happen to come from Keiichi, Belldandy would've most certainly taken offense from that question. Although inexperienced herself, during the last few years Belldandy spent countless hours monitoring candidates for demonic contracts, which inevitably exposed her to a whole new type of interactions between the two sexes. And one of the first things she learned was that inviting a guy to her room could make them wonder if she wanted more than just some friendly chit-chat; hence Keiichi's rather awkward attempt to figure out her intentions without making himself sound like a total pervert. But then again, this was Keiichi Morisato she was dealing with. A guy who couldn't even figure out that a museum wasn't a place for a date, although if Belldandy wanted to be fair, she was equally clueless back then and a certain degree… even now.

'Alright… think about it. What would've neesan done in a situation like this?' The first thing that came to the Norn's mind was sharing a drink with Keiichi, while listening to soft music in a somewhat romantic setting. Well, except from the potentially liberal use of that term, since any date _a la Urd_ would've also included revealing clothing as well as lots of innuendo, and while she could deal with the former -given more than two years of experience with striperrific outfits- the latter… was a totally different matter altogether. 'The only thing about innuendo I know is a board game by that name. No, that won't do at all. I'll only make a fool of myself. Hm… in that case, how about Peorth?' Memories from back when she first moved into her fellow demoness' apartment resurfaced, and before long Belldandy was totally convinced that she wasn't going to pull a Peorth on poor Keiichi. 'In that case, I should go with a somewhat toned down version of Urd's approach.'

Studying Belldandy's thoughtful expression, Keiichi began to worry as more seconds passed without getting any sort of reply from her. Keiichi's biggest fear was that he somehow insulted her by his admittedly awkward question, but it was far too late to take it back now. And even if he did just that, Keiichi had no idea what to suggest for them. After all, he found himself in such a private setting with someone he just met. Even worse, the more rational part of his mind tried to warn its more impulsive side that this was unlikely to turn into a fairy tale romance; not unlike Cinderella's, but in reverse. He was just an average bloke who happened to be at the right place and time to meet a celebrity and hear her troubled thoughts, given that it was unlikely for Belldandy to express such things in public, mostly to avoid getting bad reputation for it. That didn't immediately make him anyone special and furthermore, Keiichi wished to avoid raising his hopes too much, only to be shot down soon after.

Still, when the brunette went to next room and returned with a pair of glasses, Keiichi's mind screamed 'date' no matter how much he wished to keep his expectations low. And when Belldandy went to turn the room's hi-fi on and chose a nice, slow piece for them to listen to, even the most pessimistic person in the world would've taken the hint that something's definitely going on here. Stranger though was the fact that he could've sworn that her dress became a couple of inches shorter than a while ago, although for the most part, Keiichi simply dismissed it as just his mind playing tricks with him.

Turning around, Belldandy offered Keiichi a warm smile, knowing all too well how nervous he was. "Keiichi-san? Would you like something to drink?"

"Me? I… uh… a beer would be fine. There's no need to get anything too fancy, and besides, I'll need to be able to drive myself home." In reality, Keiichi wasn't that much of a drinker, yet asking for anything non alcoholic would've made him look like a wuss.

"A beer? Keiichi-san, there's no need to hold back on me. In a situation like this, it's fine to ask for something a bit more… out of the ordinary for you," said Belldandy, tilting her head as in all seriousness she wasn't actually certain what to suggest herself. "How about some high quality Sake? Or would you prefer champagne?"

"Actually, Sake would be fine," said Keiichi after a few moments of uncertainty. 'Let's hope I won't get too tipsy to drive back, or Megumi won't let me live it down if I end up asking her to come and pick me up.'

"Excellent! Just wait for a moment and I'll order a bottle for us!" Waltzing across the room, the now much chirpier demoness idly hummed one of her group's songs, given its much more upbeat tone compared to the piece she put on the hi-fi. Furthermore, she even swayed her hips in rhythm, but unlike her stage performance a few hours ago, this time she really put her heart in it. Which actually got her the intended result as she felt Keiichi's aura flare up in a bright pink haze that was undoubtedly reminiscent of what her eldest sister left in her wake, thanks to the numerous men ogling at her flawless body. 'This is so strange. I never understood why Urd loved teasing others as much as she did, but… I kind of get it now. It's really fun! Especially if I happen to sway my bum for Keiichi-san!'

It was fortunate that the goddess had her back turned to the blushing mortal or he would've definitely seen her eyes go wide when the Norn realized just _what_ she was thinking. Years ago it would've been impossible for her reserved and almost innocent personality to consider such things, and not to mention act upon such thoughts. Yet as much as Belldandy wished to blame her current nature as the main culprit for this unrestrained behavior, deep inside of her, the Norn knew that it was an excuse. As a goddess she may had convinced herself that her fascination with Keiichi was nothing more than just that, but in her current state it was no longer possible to fool herself anymore. She _did_ have a crush on Keiichi and now that he was standing right in front of her -rather than being an image on her terminal- the Norn desperately desired to get his attention, one way or another. And by the looks of it, her clumsy and quite possibly unorthodox methods did actually get her some results.

Although the biggest question right now was what to do next; enticing Keiichi was one thing but going too far was another. Not only he was even more shy than she was back in her goddess days, but should he give in -as unlikely as that seemed to be- Belldandy had no clue how to handle such a situation. Distant memories of that dream she had months ago still made her wonder whether she could actually go all the way with him on the very day they met. If nothing else, such a decision would likely leave him with a _very_ skewed view of her personality. After all, the last thing she needed was to make him think that she only cared about a very casual and mostly carnal relationship, instead of a more wholesome one.

A slow and steady approach was definitely the best one for a guy like Keiichi, but in this particular case, there were other factors that almost ruled out such an option. With the demons using her as their trump card to revive their almost collapsed economy and their associates keeping a close eye at her every move, Belldandy had no delusions that maintaining any sort of relationship with Keiichi under these circumstances was going to be a real challenge.

'Alright, one step at a time…' Letting out a sigh to calm her nerves, Belldandy pushed those pessimistic thoughts out of the way and decided to do something constructive, instead of wasting her precious time with Keiichi. Heading for the suite's phone, she picked up the handset and ordered a bottle of Sake, a pretty expensive one too. Money wasn't an issue for her and as much as she knew that Keiichi didn't care for such things, she still wished to put some effort behind this, at least from a mortal's perspective. 'Let's try to act casually around him and enjoy the present, rather than making long term plans that may never become a reality anyways.'

XXX

 _Niflheim_

"Why are we leaving the club?" As much as she didn't want to sound too suspicious, Lind felt like she was foolishly walking into trap. And all for the sake of trying to find whether this… Fehu character was a potential ally or not. 'This is absurd. Why am I even going this far? Is this to somehow make up for that blunder I've made earlier? To bring some kind of good news to Urd? To seem useful? Maybe because I don't know how to properly apologize to anyone?'

Looking over her shoulder, the auburn haired demoness gave Lind a wink and pointed at the building just around the corner. "To my apartment. Like I said before, I wanted a more private setting for our conversation, and besides… it's not like you're going to find Kaun back in the club. New guys are always given the most menial and boring tasks, just to avoid all sorts of lazy bums who only want to get a free show. So... he's currently in the Middle section to pick up a shipment of booze for the bar."

"I see. Although I don't recall telling you anything about who I was looking for," said Lind as she gave Fehu a rather suspicious stare.

"Oh please, I'm not _that_ ignorant! I've heard about Kaun's… interest in Peorth and the moment you stepped into the club, I knew you came to strangle him," said Fehu, as she guided Lind into the apartment block she was living. The whole building was constructed around one of the secondary support columns that assisted the primary pillars in order the support the tremendous weight of the city above. Even more, the materials used for the apartment block were the same as the metal alloys used for the column it surrounded, giving this whole place a very cold and impersonal feel. It was even less homey than most of the military facilities Lind had seen back in Asgard, and yet judging by the look on Fehu's face, she didn't seem to mind it at all. "Well, here we are!"

Nodding absently, Lind stepped inside the somewhat cramped apartment, keeping her guard up just in case this was a trap. The interior proved no surprise as it was no less inhospitable and cold as the rest of the building, with bare metal walls and few options in terms of creature comforts. Which was more or less typical of the Low Levels, and a far cry from the amenities available in the Middle Section, let alone the Skyline. Few demons could afford anything fancy down here and considering that Lind herself was one of them, it kind of left the former Valkyrie with mixed feelings. 'There are so many who must be feeling jealous of my and Urd's rather posh lifestyle, yet I'd gladly give up all those pointless comforts for my freedom…'

"Don't be shy, make yourself home!" said Fehu, sensing Lind's discomfort. Even without relying on emotional auras which can be manipulated by immortals, should they wish to hide their emotions, Fehu had become an expert at reading people's body language that proved way trickier to control. It was all thanks to her job, that gave her the opportunity to study her audience's reactions and adjust her own body language to get the desired effect; which in this case was to make Lind relax.

"There's no need for that, but… I appreciate the offer." Despite not intending to sound too rude, Lind couldn't help but notice the auburn haired demoness slightly grimace as soon as she heard that reply. And while she didn't care at all about Fehu's reaction to her attempt of holding a conversation with a stranger, Lind had to admit that not too long ago she inadvertently insulted Urd, too. Which meant that her social skills must be somewhat lacking, and this time she really wanted to know what the problem really was. "Did I say something offensive?"

"No, far from it really," said Fehu who managed to recover way faster than Lind gave her credit for. "There was nothing offensive in your statement, just that you said all that with such a serious expression. In a situation like this, it's normal for people to smile a bit to help those around them feel more comfortable. After all… you can convey feelings more easily with even the subtlest change in your body language or the tiniest of smiles."

"Why should I do that for a stranger and especially in a situation like this?" asked Lind, crossing her arms in defiance, and in a bizarre way use Fehu's advice but only to display skepticism and even hostility.

"Because not everything can be accomplished by brute force and intimidation. As much as you may think that all demons are violent by nature, we're still far from simple minded beings who only beat each other to submission. And for a goddess like yourself, Valkyrie or not, that way of thinking will only drive you to a corner when it comes to your social skills. After all, empathy is important when it comes to interactions, regardless of your species."

Still, Lind was unconvinced, or rather… a part of her was annoyed that a _demoness_ was actually lecturing her. She even wished to dismiss all that as nothing more than this hussy's attempt to patronize her, yet the worst part was that Fehu's advice made sense. 'This is unacceptable… getting lectured by a demoness? Is this how far I've fallen?' But at that moment, her senses went on overdrive as she felt Fehu's hands move to her face with surprising nimbleness and got hold of her cheeks. ' _What the?!-_ '

Tugging at the edges of her lips, yet without applying too much force to cause discomfort, Fehu forced Lind's lips into a somewhat awkward smile, and didn't remove her hands even when the former Valkyrie got hold on her wrists. "There you go! You just need to smile a bit more, Lind! Especially when it look so nice on your face…"

" _Don't get familiar with me!_ " managed Lind despite of having her face pulled in such an awkward expression. Although considering the amount of effort it took her to take Fehu's hands off her face, Lind took a cautious step back from the smiling demoness. 'Just who _are_ you?! No ordinary demoness can overpower me like that easily.'

"Say what you will, but for a stoic girl like you, a tiny smile can make other much more at ease around you," said Fehu, before she decided that she had more than enough fun with Lind; at least for now. After all, going any further was bound to cause her to leave and that would've been rather counterproductive for both of them. "Now… how about we talk business?"

"I warn you. If this turns out to be another stunt like the previous one, I'll get violent," said Lind behind narrow eyes, although Fehu's smirk was yet another unexpected surprise.

"Don't make promises you may not keep," purred the demoness, crossing her arms under her sizable bosom. "But since we're both on the same side here, I'll let it slip; for now that is…"

"This means you're a loyalist?" asked the former Valkyrie, even though it sounded pretty obvious of a question. At this point, after all the nonsense she had to deal with, Lind wasn't willing to leave anything to some kind of misunderstanding, so being obvious was the least of her concerns.

"Hm… Loyalty is a very subjective topic for us demons." Gone was the playful cheerfulness from before, as the demoness' tone shifted to a far more serious and even downright chilling one. "Aside from looking our for our personal interests, trying to determine who's loyal to whom, can be a very lengthy and often exasperating discussion, so I'll only have to let you know that I'd like to see Hild-sama as our Daimakaicho once again. And that's your best ticket out of here."

"I understand." Offering a nod, Lind felt partially relieved that her initial assumption about Fehu was correct. Not that she was going to take her word for it though, as such would've been foolish. Still, this was a clear indication that she was worth to keep an eye on, and depending on the demoness' future actions, Lind could find out if her claims were indeed true or she was merely putting on an act. But the best way to avoid the latter was to put her in a place she could have her under constant surveillance, instead of meeting her every now and then. "In that case, I have a proposition for you."

"Oh? And what would that be?" asked Fehu, raising an eyebrow.

"Would you like to work in our casino? I can most certainly provide you with better living conditions and quite possibly a higher salary than in that dingy hole you call a workplace. Although I must admit that we don't have a position for you in the same kind of job, but I'm confident that if we let someone with your… people skills, you can take over the customer service in the casino whenever Urd's not available."

"Hm… your offer seems rather good, yet… there's something missing to make me consider it. Dunno… it kind of sounded so cold and impersonal for me to take it seriously," said Fehu as her expression shifted from deadly serious to her previous playful persona, smiling in such an over dramatic way that even Lind would take the hint.

Which she actually did, even though she didn't like it at all. Clasping her hands to calm herself down, Lind cleared her mind and then let out a long breath as she let her body relax, before she finally looked directly at the auburn haired demoness and _smiled_. "Would you like to work for us, Fehu? We've got the best business in the Low Levels… no… _the whole city!_ "

" _Sure thing!_ " said Fehu with a laugh, before slapping Lind's shoulders, much to the latter's embarrassment. "See? It wasn't that difficult!"

"Yes, yes… now pack your things and let's get out of here, before I change my mind."

XXX

 _Earth_

" _Room service!_ "

"I'm coming!" called Belldandy in delight as she rushed to answer the door. It was mere minutes after she placed the order for a bottle of high quality Sake and thankfully the hotel's service was quite excellent, despite the still ongoing party in the main hall, that kept most of the staff busy. 'Finally with this I can make Keiichi relax a bit, so he won't be this nervous. Yes, that would be really nice.'

However, the Norn's smile didn't last for too long, as the moment she opened the door, the brunette came face to face with not only the staff member who carried the tray with her order, but also another man standing next to him; and this one was the last person she wanted to see. " _You?_ What are _you_ doing here?"

"Now, now… miss Belldandy, you don't have to look this unhappy," said Aoshima, as he waved dismissively at the hotel's employee, indicating that his services were no longer needed. And as the other man offered them a polite bow, Aoshima picked up the Sake bottle from the tray and turned back to Belldandy who was still seething with silent rage at the sight of him. "I was told that you've ordered a drink, so I decided to buy this for you. It's actually a special last minute order that was originally intended for the guests over at the main hall, but… I've pulled some strings as the party's organizer to secure the best for you."

"That wasn't necessary…" said Belldandy behind clenched teeth, trying to block the door when she noticed that he was about to get into the room. "And neither is your presence for that matter. You can take your bottle and leave; I'll order another one for myself."

"But it's not just for yourself now, is it?" said Aoshima with a slight grin as he peered over the brunette's shoulder to notice a vaguely familiar face; one he hadn't seen for quite some time. "Oh, would you look at that! I've heard that you were the winner of that lottery, but I'm rather surprised to find you _here_ , Morisato. This kind of brings back some memories, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah… Nothing remotely pleasant, though," came Keiichi's reply, as he couldn't help but frown at the sight of the once infamous playboy of NIT. And quite possibly the guy who was responsible for the Motor Club's demise as his Four Wheels club forced them to take far too many gambles with their limited budget, all while Aoshima kept spending money like crazy to remain competitive. To the point where the Motor Club just couldn't keep up anymore and were forced to shut the club down. Even worse, it was all for the sake of showing off his wealth, since he had no real interest in his club's activities. As a matter of fact, as soon as he graduated and no longer needed his club as a shameless self promotion, Aoshima simply shut it down, leaving NIT without any motor sport oriented clubs; a real shame for any technical institution.

"Is that so? Well… at any rate, I hope life's been good to you." If it wasn't for the somewhat sarcastic tone of his voice and that almost ever present smirk on his face, one could've mistaken Aoshima's words as a case of common courtesy, but as it was, neither Keiichi nor Belldandy were fooled by his mannerisms.

"I'm doing fine, thank you very much," said Keiichi in an almost uncharacteristically cold tone for him.

But before either man could go any further, Belldandy decided that there was no need to let _that guy_ ruin their mood any more than he already did. This was her moment with Keiichi, and she wasn't going to allow that scumbag to take that away from her. "I think that's more than enough. We don't want you here, so, take your unnecessary gift and get lost!"

Unfortunately that was hardly enough to deter Aoshima, who knew that unlike any of their previous interactions, Belldandy was kind of forced to act like a mortal in front of Keiichi. After all, he seriously doubted that she somehow managed to explain her nature to him in such a short amount of time, and that gave him an opportunity. "Like I said… you don't have to act like that. After all, I'm kind enough to allow _such kind of behavior_ miss Belldandy." Placing his foot against the door, to prevent her from shutting it right on his face, Aoshima more or less forced his way into the room, and this time he was no longer going to pull any punches. "Not only did you suddenly disappear from the party without informing anyone, but you've also invited a man into your room. Now… this is totally unacceptable in this industry, miss Belldandy. If word of this… meeting gets out, the backlash from your loyal fans will cause a major PR disaster for our record company."

"That's none of my concerns," said Belldandy when she saw the slightly worried expression on Keiichi's face. 'He's trying to guilt trip Keiichi into leaving! That… _that!... I won't allow it!_ '

"It's my concern, though," said Aoshima without missing a beat, his aggravating smile ever present on his face. "Since your agent is blissfully unaware of your… _activities_ , it's my duty to make sure that this meeting will remain a secret between the three of us. I've even taken some measures to keep the press away from this section of the hotel to better ensure that no one will even find out about your… let's say guest."

"As generous as that might seem, I suspect that you're not doing this out of the kindness of your heart," said Belldandy in a low, accusatory tone. Of course that wasn't what she really wanted to say, but with this being her first meeting with Keiichi, the Norn wished to avoid ruining his impression of her by speaking her mind in front of him. Not that she didn't know about his past with Aoshima, and the fact that he most certainly disliked him, yet Belldandy desperately tried to act like her old self; her _true self_ as a goddess and not a prisoner of the demons.

" _Honestly?..._ As long as I go first then I don't mind if our _guest_ gets some sloppy seconds…"

The sheer vulgarity of that outrageous proposition took even Belldandy by surprise, and she knew all too well how disgusting Aoshima could get when it came to satisfying his most base needs. In more than one occasions the so called playboy didn't shy from using blackmail to get into the panties of whoever woman he fancied and then threaten them with all sorts of legal garbage to keep them silent. Even to the point where he attempted to make it seem as if they were the ones who tried to take advantage of his poor soul for money, and with the army of lawyers working for Sayoko's company, Belldandy had no doubts that few would start a lengthy legal dispute over what exactly took place after they stepped into his bedroom.

And if Belldandy was shocked, then Keiichi literally had to pinch himself to make sure that this happening for real. Of course he was aware of Aoshima's reputation from their college days, but this was on a totally different level. " _Hold on a minute! You can't treat your employees like that!_ "

"Says who?" shot Aoshima back at Keiichi with a sneer. "In this world, money talks, and I've got more than enough, Morisato. So I might as well enjoy life to the fullest, rather than trying to earn brownie points like a retarded boy scout like you. And you know what… It works! You're just jealous that the only dates you've likely gotten so far were with your palm…"

"Why you!..." Grabbing Aoshima by his collar, Keiichi took advantage of all the workout he got thanks to his several part time jobs and easily overpowered his opponent, shoving him against the wall. And no matter how much he hated violence, it was all too tempting to simply punch him in the face, but in the end he hesitated.

Which allowed Aoshima to recover from his initial surprise and dust his expensive suit, before he noticed the now broken bottle of Sake that was left on the floor where he dropped it. "Now look what you've done! Oh well… you're going to pay for it, Morisato. Unless you want me to call the security and hand you over to the police for attempted assault and…" said the bespectacled man as he eyed over at the seething Belldandy, before turning back to Keiichi. "You may also have to explain just _what_ you were doing into her room, as well. I mean... Why would anyone believe that a nobody like you had any business in a celebrity's room… other than to take advantage of her? And by using violence on top of that, too."

" _What?!_ " This was far from the response Keiichi had expected, especially from someone who was shamelessly trying to force himself on Belldandy. "What the hell, Aoshima! You can't do that! That's… that's what _you're_ trying to do! You're the one who needs to get arrested for treating people like that!"

"Oh… you think I'm joking? Then how about we give it a try and see what's going to happen?" asked the rich man, grabbing his smartphone from his jacket.

"I…" Taking a step back, Keiichi had no idea how to react in a situation like this. Or rather… he knew, but wasn't certain that spending who knows how long behind bars would do anyone a favor. And not to mention ruin the rest of his life by becoming a convicted felon, especially with the charges Aoshima wanted to throw at him.

But as the rich man was about to pocket his smartphone, now confident that he had the upper hand in this situation and perhaps even use this as a bargaining chip against Belldandy… everything changed the moment he glimpsed in the demoness' direction. The look of pure malice in her glowing eyes was so terrifying that not only did he take a few steps back in horror, but for the first time in his life, Aoshima felt as if he was about to die; and quite painfully too. "No… wait a moment! You… you're obliged to do as I say! If not then-"

" _ **My**_ **obligations will no longer be** _ **your**_ **concern once I'm done with you,** _ **drek!**_ " snarled Belldandy as a malevolent wind picked up around her, threatening to tear everything inside the room into pieces. Even her voice had somehow changed from the normally gentle and soothing tone and into a much harsher and coarse one that almost sounded inhuman, causing both mortals in her presence to uncontrollably shiver. " **I may have tolerated your pathetic existence so far, but if you keep threatening Keiichi-san like this… I'll do humanity a favor and off you. Do you understand me?** "

"Yes! I won't-" But before he could finish, the wind around the furious demoness picked up, sending one of her jewelry cases right at Aoshima's head, effectively knocking him out cold

As unnecessary of an action as it was, Belldandy actually felt a rather unfamiliar sense of satisfaction by actually harming someone, no matter how much the said person deserved it. Then again, she most likely caused him a mere concussion and nothing remotely life threatening, yet she now knew that thanks to that moron's interference, time was of the essence. " **Keii- uh…** no... Keiichi-san… I need you to get out of here, right now. I can't explain what's going on, but I don't want you to get caught into this. _Please..._ "

"I… uh…" Try as he might, Keiichi was far too shocked by what happened to utter anything other than almost incomprehensible sounds. What initially started out as a fairytale suddenly turned into some bizarre nightmare or some other kind of horror story that Keiichi had no idea what to feel about. 'I saw _that_ , right? She was using… _magic?_ Was that magic anyway? And what's with her _voice?_ That… _that_ wasn't human at all! _What's going on here?!_ '

Getting no response from him, Belldandy took a cautious step towards the shellshocked mortal, trying not to cause him any more distress. But even that proved too much for his mind to cope, and much to her horror, Keiichi turned around and bolted. Not that she didn't wish him to get out of here before the guards arrived to find out what that magical discharge was, yet… this wasn't how she wished her meeting with him to end. Even with everything else going on, a part of her old self -the ever optimist- desperately hoped that she could have the meeting she always dreamed of, only to end up like _this_.

"Belldandy! What happened?-" By the time Peorth finally arrived at the scene, she could almost hear the sound of the guards' footsteps as they too rushed to find out what the commotion was all about. But the worst thing was the sight of the Norn sitting on the bed with her legs drawn close to her chest, and her chin resting on her knees. "Belldandy?..."

"It's over…" said the Norn barely above a whisper as she kept staring at the wall opposite of her. "He ran away in fear… and I don't think he'll ever come back. That's it… it's all over."

Letting out a sigh, Peorth honestly had no experience handling this kind of situations, but considering that she had no other option, she improvised. Taking a seat next to Belldandy, Peorth wrapped an arm across the Norn's shoulders and offered her a smile when the latter turned to look at her. "It's not over yet. We're not leaving Nekomi for a good couple of days, and in the meanwhile I'll find him, okay? Even though I don't know what happened, I'm sure that… bastard had something to do with it," said Peorth giving a sharp stare in Aoshima's unconscious form. "So, I doubt that Keiichi won't understand why you… had to deal with him."

"He's afraid of me, Peorth!" said Belldandy, not trusting herself to say more without having her voice crack.

"That happens all the time, and you know it! Even as a goddess, I've lost count on how many occasions my clients totally freaked out when I appeared before them!" said Peorth, before adding a joking manner. "And… no, not because oh my bikini, mind tell you!"

Even if it was nowhere close enough to cheer her up, Belldandy couldn't help but smile a bit at Peorth's attempt to show some compassion towards her. "Yes… you have that effect on people… But-"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Peorth in mock anger and then pat the Norn's shoulder. "Now, stop worrying too much and let's deal with _this_ mess. I'll get Keiichi back even if I drag him to you kicking and screaming! Just have a little faith in ol' me and… more importantly in him. Okay?"

Letting a sigh, Belldandy shook her head and a tiny smile returned back into her face. "Yes!"

"Good! So, first things first, let's toss the _trash_ out!"

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

First of all, happy new year to everyone! I hope 2017 will be even better to you than the last year! I took some time off from writing (or rather I ended up writing a lot less) and now I'm back to full steam ahead!

Now as far as the story goes, I know that a lot of you might've expected a full date between Keiichi and Belldandy. Still… considering the premise of this story, things won't be that easy for our favorite couple. I'll get there, but it's going to take some effort from both of them.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

"Kei-chan, I'm heading out!"

Waiting for a reply that never came, Megumi paused by her apartment's front door and looked over her shoulder at the almost unresponsive Keiichi. Despite all the stress he was going through as of late, Megumi had never seen her brother being _this_ distraught, even though he did his best to hide it from her. 'I don't get it. He was just fine up until the moment I left him along last night. The only thing he did from that point on was to attend that party. Seriously… what happened there to make him _this_ upset?' Furrowing her brows in worry, Megumi started to regret her decision to take him to that concert, especially since the whole idea was to cheer him up; only to end up with the exact opposite effect.

"Kei-chan! I'm going to NIT for my morning classes!" repeated Megumi in a louder voice, considering that so far her brother's eyes remained glued to the TV, yet his expression seemed to indicate a total lack of interest at what he was watching. Most likely it appeared as if he just wanted something to stare at, instead of simply looking blankly at a wall, which only made Megumi even more worried about his state of mind.

"Huh? Oh, right!..." Shaking his head slightly, Keiichi snapped out of his reverie when he realized that his sister was talking to him. And after what must've felt like an eternity for both of them, Keiichi turned to face his younger sibling and did her best to put a smile on his face. "Uh… have fun Megumi, and drive safely, okay?"

Despite his attempt to sound as if nothing was wrong, Megumi knew her brother far too well to tell that this was just an act, but decided against pushing him harder for an answer. She had unsuccessfully attempted that a couple of times already, and all she ever got were a few half-hearted excuses. Things like that he was just too tired, or had a headache from all that loud music playing at yesterday's concert. Yet the very way Keiichi tried to explain himself, convinced Megumi that he was most certainly lying. Something else must've taken place and her brother just didn't wish to admit it, but for the time being she had no other option but let him be. "Did you call your bosses and tell them that you won't go to work?"

"Yeah… I really don't feel too hot right now, so I told them that I've got a bad migraine," said Keiichi with a sigh. He honestly hated to lie like that, not only to his employers, but Megumi too. Still, there was absolutely no way of admitting the truth, as even his sister would definitely think that he's gone crazy. 'What am I supposed to say? That I witnessed someone use _magic?_ Yeah… that sounds totally believable.'

"If you say so… But go see a doctor if it's not gone by tomorrow, okay?" No matter how much she knew that this wasn't the case, Megumi wanted to make sure that whatever the cause behind her brother's current mood may had been, he would try to resolve it. Of course Keiichi wasn't exactly known for being a quitter, but considering that she had never seen him like this, Megumi just wanted to make sure that he would do something about it.

Nodding at her, Keiichi watched his sister walk out of the apartment, leaving him alone with his thoughts. The whole incident affected him way more than he had ever anticipated, as not only it was something literally out of this world, but to a certain degree, Keiichi felt really disappointed at himself. Just the way he ran away back then felt completely against his character, especially when he left someone in need behind him. Of course, Keiichi had no delusions of grandeur, being fully aware of his own limits and the fact that he wasn't some sort of hero who'd save the day when everything else failed. He was just an ordinary guy struggling to make a living, and the best he could do was to call the police and hopefully have Aoshima arrested for his outrageous behavior.

Still, Keiichi seriously doubted that he could put that guy behind bars, since he had more than enough money to afford all the means to get himself out of that situation. And not to mention that should Aoshima realize his threat, then it would've been Keiichi the one getting arrested for attempted assault. Or perhaps it was some sort of blackmail, as Keiichi didn't know all that much about the legal jargon behind situations like these. What he was certain about though, was that Belldandy seemed to possess powers beyond his comprehension and by the looks of it, Aoshima wasn't surprised by that fact; only that she turned against him.

'Come to think of it, that really makes a lot of sense. Not only did they appear out of nowhere and became popular within a few weeks, but nobody knows much about those two.'

If that was the case though, Keiichi had no desire to find out why Belldandy was more or less forced to work for Sayoko and Aoshima. Nothing from his discussion with her hinted that she did all that on her own free will, but if a woman with such powers was in this kind of position, then Keiichi stood no chance against whoever was pulling the strings from behind the scenes. That was the most likely explanation, even though he had no way of proving his hypothesis; and for that matter, neither did he know if investigating the matter was a smart idea too.

'Stop worrying, there's nothing you can do, so let it drop.' Repeating the same thing time after time, Keiichi desperately tried to convince himself to put the whole incident behind him and move on with his life. No matter how much he wanted to punch that blasted Aoshima in the face… the sad reality was that in the end Keiichi was just an everyday dude. He still had half a dozen part time jobs to attend, bills to pay and overall… take care of his life, before he could start thinking about others.

 _Or so he wished._

Giving up that easily just wasn't him at all, and even though he honestly didn't care much about Belldandy as a celebrity, after meeting her in person, Keiichi got to see a very different side of her character. A side that was far more relatable for him than the one advertised by the media for the legions of delirious fans who probably only see her and Peorth like merchandise.

Yet he now knew that there was _one more side_ of her person that was still having trouble to accept, as it sounded totally impossible, and that only complicated matters even more. Unlike his college days where he could rely on the other members of the Motor Club for support, this time around, Keiichi had no way of explaining the situation to anyone without making himself look like a raving lunatic.

 _In other words, he was on his own._

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Keiichi decided that at the very least he had to do something other than spending all day staring at the TV. If nothing else he was quite hungry, as he hadn't eaten anything since he returned back home yesterday, so Keiichi headed for his sister's kitchen to find if there was anything he could use.

XXX

 _Low Levels, Niflheim_

Crawling herself out of her bed wasn't a task Urd was looking forward to; just something she _had_ to do at some point, as lying there indefinitely wasn't going to do anyone a favor. Clutching her head as she experienced the full effect of her hangover, Urd struggled to even remain upright on her bed, only to nearly collapse from dizziness. She knew that drinking those ten bottles of Sake after she came back from the Daimakaicho's office wasn't the wisest of ideas, but just hearing the news about what took place on Earth a couple of hours ago made her blood boil from rage. So, as a last resort method to keep herself from losing control and end up putting the lives of those around her in jeopardy, she decided that the safest option was to simply drink herself to sleep.

Staring at her bedroom's ceiling, Urd tried to sort her thoughts out now that she had finally calmed down enough to do so in a rational manner, even though it was still quite the challenge thanks to her splitting headache. She was angry, that much was certain; but whom she was angry at was something she hadn't figured out as of yet. Of course the obvious target was that slip of a man her sister worked for, but then again he was nothing more that a lowly worm of no real importance; one she could easily kill without even feeling the slightest pang of remorse. Hagall was another one to blame for putting Belldandy in that situation to begin with, but she still had the excuse of not being directly involved in the whole situation. As far as everyone was concerned, the Daimakaicho never ordered that mortal -or anyone else for that matter- to treat Belldandy in such a dreadful fashion. Perhaps Urd herself was responsible too, in the sense that while all that took place on Earth, the half demoness was fast asleep in the Daimakaicho's sofa, instead of paying the proper attention to the live feed. That Aoshima character wasn't someone of any importance to Hagall, so it should've been fine if she demanded him removed from the scene, especially if counted as a favor; one that she'd have to return at some point of time.

'Even if Hagall did nothing, I should've looked out for Bell instead of letting her down like that.'

Her only consolation was that if things didn't work out and she was left with no other option but to sit and watch… Urd wouldn't be able to watch her sister's sorrow and in the process vent her frustrations on Hagall. Which would've only added to Belldandy's sorrows once she'd be forced to face the consequences of her actions, as attacking the Daimakaicho was a severe crime.

'Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Well… what's done is done, so I cannot change the past; even if I'm the goddess who governs it.'

Grimacing at the mention of her previous nature as a goddess, Urd finally forced herself up and then pushed her unkempt hair out of her eyes. Unsurprisingly there was no sign of Lind anywhere, as the former Valkyrie was a bit of a morning bird -unlike Urd herself- and therefore she must've already woken up hours ago. Although… the room seemed to be a lot tidier than normal, and while Urd wasn't exactly a slob, she wasn't a neat-freak like her middle sister either.

Of course, that still left Lind, although the warrior generally avoided to touch Urd's possessions without reason, which probably meant one thing. 'Did she actually got us a maid? I was kind of joking the other day, but with Lind… Who knows, maybe she thought I was being serious. Well, if that's the case then I'm not going to complain.'

Getting up from her bed, Urd took a moment to make sure that nothing valuable was misplaced, although anything far too important was well hidden in a secure location elsewhere. Still, whoever cleaned up the place did a really meticulous job as there was no hint of a single dust spec anywhere, which actually pleased Urd as it was one less thing to worry about. Or in a roundabout way it gave her some semblance of normalcy, given that her sister always kept their house absolutely spotless.

Tossing her nightshirt aside, Urd summoned a bathing towel and once she secured it around her, the half demoness picked a bucket with her bathing supplies. Normally she'd simply have a quick shower, but today, Urd reckoned that a long soak would help her relax a bit and for that reason she headed for the indoors onsen across the hallway. It was one of the few amenities she considered essential and even allowed all her staff to use it at their own discretion; with the added bonus that they actually cleaned it on a daily basis and without any complaints since they got to enjoy it too.

Yet considering that most of her staff was already on their posts around the casino and the rest of her businesses inside the whole complex, Urd was somewhat surprised to find someone else soaking in the hot water. A rather attractive and curvaceous demoness with a killer body that made even her feel slightly annoyed at the sight; but more importantly, this was an unfamiliar face. 'Did they let a customer use the onsen? We're not a public bathhouse! I'll have to knock some heads together, but for now let's not make a fool of myself.' Checking once more to make sure that her guest was indeed not wearing a towel, Urd took hers off before approaching her. The whole point was to just imitate her guest, and in the process get this demoness in the mood to answer questions, as people generally liked it when others behaved similar to them; since it implied that they had common interests. "Hello there, you must be new to these parts! I'm Urd, the owner of this business!"

"Oh?" Looking up from her spot in the pool, the auburn haired demoness offered Urd a smile and then got up to properly greet her. "The pleasure is all mine! I'm so happy to meet you again after so long! But where are my manners? I'm demoness first class, limited license, Fehu! And as I've been told, from this point on I'll be working for you. So, please take good care of me."

As her so called employee offered her a polite bow, Urd's brows furrowed in disbelief. "Excuse me, but did you just say _first class?_ How's that possible? I don't see many first class demons looking for employment down here; at least not unless they open a business of their own."

"True words. Although in my case, it's mostly a trust issue in regards to my association with Hagall-sama's _predecessor_ ," said Fehu, putting a lot more emphasis on the last part. And as expected the moment she said that, Urd's eyebrows shot straight up, no matter how much the Norn probably wished to keep her composure. "Due to the rather… recent change in administration, there are a few cases like me, where others don't wish to employ us due to fear that they might be taken as loyalists; even if they secretly are."

Offering a nod, Urd couldn't believe her ears. This was the first time ever since she got here that someone openly admitted to her that they've been loyal to her mother. It was in way the moment she's been waiting for, but no matter how excited she was, Urd tried to keep her cool and remind herself that this could've also been a lie. Unlike others here, no matter how much she tried to keep her cards close to her, it was painfully obvious to everyone what her long terms goals were. And with Hagall having such a hard time making her do what she wanted, sending a double agent seemed a rather plausible alternative to putting even more pressure onto her. "By association you say. That's a bit vague, isn't it? I'd like a few more details, and I did also notice something rather interesting. You mentioned that we've met before, yet I've got no recollection of you."

"It was such a long time ago that I'm not surprised you've got no memories of me," said Fehu with a slight smile, pulling her long auburn hair back in a ponytail. "Perhaps this might look more familiar to you, although I'm still uncertain that you'll manage to recognize me. At any rate, I'm… or rather… I _was_ your mother's head maid. Which also explains why we've met before, back when you were just a child, since it was my task to take care not only Hild-sama's mansion but also you as well. And I must admit that you've grown up to be a really attractive young lady; powerful too."

That was actually a totally unexpected response, as Urd was under the impression that the demoness was referring to her capture during the aftermath of Hagall's coup; not all the way to her childhood. Of course she wasn't naive enough to take all that as hard facts and she'd have to try and verify those claims later on, but for now, Urd wished to know more about her. "That's… unexpected. I never thought I'd find one of my mother's retainers in the Low Levels of all places. Also, how did you end up in my casino?"

"Well… like I said it was hard for me to be accepted in any other kind of job, since I've worked in Hild-sama's mansion for so long that no one expected me to suddenly switch loyalties. And while the mansion itself technically belongs to whoever possesses the title of the Daimakaicho, most of the staff was replaced with demons formally serving under Hagall-sama; just so that she feels more comfortable having them around her. As a result, I contacted an old friend that owned me a favor or two and found myself on opening as a stripper in his club," explained Fehu in such a casual fashion that actually caught Urd by surprise, although this time due to the demoness' previous occupation.

While not exactly a high ranking position, being the Daimakaicho's head maid was definitely far more privileged job than anything available in the Middle Section, let alone in the Low Levels. And for a demoness' perspective to go from such a respectable and even coveted job to something as pitiable as an exotic dancer was more than just a demotion, it was a complete and utter disaster. Yet for whatever reason, Fehu didn't seem too broken about the abrupt fall from grace, which likely indicated that despite her outwards cheerful appearance, this demoness possessed a truly commendable fortitude. "I see… Although I don't have such a position here, so how about you work here as a maid, instead? We could definitely need someone who's good at housekeeping."

"Actually, your friend already told me that, and thought that I'd do a good job at customer service, thanks to my _people skills_." Pausing for a moment to look around, Fehu leaned closer to Urd and added in a much lower tone. "Although I think that she must've been really impressed by my dancing performance, even though she won't admit it."

" _What?_ " Staring at her with an almost stunned expression in her face, Urd just couldn't believe that Lind of all people would hire anyone for such a reason; although she did make a mental note to find out more about their meeting.

" _I'm just joking!_ " laughed Fetu and tapped Urd's nose in a playful manner. "For Hild-sama's daughter, you're a bit too tense and serious. Just relax a bit, and put a nice smile on your face, young lady."

Shaking her head, Urd let out a drawn out sigh, before she did her best to offer her a tiny smile. "Oh, I'm nothing like that at all. It's just that I had a really bad day, and I'm still a bit sore about it. But under normal circumstances… you might say that I've got more common things with my mother than I'd like to admit."

"If that's true, then how about we have a drink while relaxing in the water? We can discuss business afterwards."

"You know what?" said Urd with a much less forced smile as she glanced over at the small cabinet where she stored a couple of Sake bottles just for such occasions. "That sounds like a plan to me. Even though I still have a hangover… what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger as they say."

"That's the spirit! Now let's get plastered!"

XXX

 _Earth_

"Thank you for the cooperation. However, keep in mind that next time it's better to ask for help rather than take matters in your own hands."

With his official inquiry over yesterday's incident finally done, the head of Niflheim's security detachment offered the two former goddesses a stern look before he collected their signed reports and after putting them in a folder he'd been carrying with him, the demon prepared to take his leave. It's been a two hour struggle to make them talk, but given the fact that the other involved party had just been discharged from the local hospital with nothing more than a minor concussion, the whole thing was absolutely pointless. The only purpose of this farce was to remind those two that weren't allowed to do whatever they wanted, rather out of personal concern over someone who was essentially nothing more than a pawn.

Waiting for the demon to leave their suite, the duo could finally breathe out a sigh of relief. At least even their captors weren't going to make a big fuss about that incident, although it became apparent that they were going to redouble their efforts to keep a close eye on them. Which called for a drastic change in Peorth's plans, as leaving the hotel even for a couple of minutes was now out of question. "Such a big waste of time… And you didn't even kill that douchebag! Seriously, Bell… you've picked the worst moment to show mercy."

"I honestly don't feel comfortable to inflict permanent damage, let alone terminal injuries, Peorth. But in hindsight, I should've stepped in earlier and use my powers to override his will before the situation escalated to that point."

Noticing Belldandy's sorrowful expression caused Peorth to back off and try not to make matters even worse of her. She knew that the Norn was hurting inside and scolding her was far from the recommended course of action at the time being. After all, no matter how much he deserved it, killing Aoshima in front of Keiichi would've been a terrible idea too; as it would've alienated the latter even more and beyond the point of no return. 'Speaking of that… I need to do something about this, but how? I don't think I can sneak past the guards as easily as I did before.' Pursing her lips, Peorth considered all her options and as much as she hated to admit it, there was only one candidate she could rely on. "Okay, let's not cry over spilt milk. What's done is done, so, instead of lamenting about what could've been, it's better to focus on our next move. And in this case, I'll have to make a phone call."

"Are you going to call Kaun?" asked the curious Norn, looking up from the floor for the first time in the last couple of minutes.

"I have to," said Peorth with a sigh, reaching to retrieve her smartphone from her top's cleavage cutout. "Ideally I'd rather do this myself, but with the way things currently stand… it's better if we come into contact with Keiichi as soon as possible, regardless of the method. The more time we waste, the less likely it's going to be for him to listen to what we have to say, as mortals have this coping mechanism that slowly forces them to reject things they cannot understand. So, we must explain him what's going on before that happens."

"Then please tell him to hurry. I know that this is far from ideal, but it's our best option for now."

"I'm on it!"

XXX

Although cooking was far from his forte, Keiichi could definitely prepare a simple breakfast for himself, although today he felt that trying something a little bit more elaborate was necessary to keep himself busy. As such he went for curry udon with vegetables, served with steamed rice as a side dish and even a cup of sake, given that he felt the need for some liquid courage to help him sort his thoughts out.

'Hey, this isn't half as bad as I feared it would be. It almost looks like I know what I'm doing!' Serving the curry udon in a bowl, Keiichi went to check the fully automated rice cooker; probably one of the most useful investments of his hard earned money. 'Yep, the rice's done! Now all I need is some Sake and I'm good to go!'

Given that both he and his sister preferred to drive their bikes with a clear head, they rarely drank booze, and even them it was something reserved for special occasions or celebrations. Which simply meant that not only did they have a single bottle of Sake in the apartment, but it was stashed in the kitchen's top cabinets; much to Keiichi's great annoyance, since it actually required him a stool to be able to even reach it. Yet despite the inadvertent reminder of his rather unimpressive stature, Keiichi welcomed the idea of getting some alcohol into his system, and opened the cabinet to find a small red octopus drinking from his bottle of Sake.

Sufficient to say that the moment he saw that, Keiichi simply closed the cabinet and headed straight for the sink, just to splash his face with refreshing, cold water. 'I'm simply… stressed a bit, that's all. That was just my mind playing tricks on me. Octopuses live at the sea; not in my kitchen cabinets… and they definitely don't drink Sake.'

Taking a moment to dry his face with a towel, Keiichi repeated his reasoning, just to make sure that his brain registered it, and then went back and this time he took a deep breath before opening the cabinet once again. Only to find the _same octopus_ trying to put the cap back on the now half empty bottle of Sake with its short tentacles. And promptly shut the cabinet door, before he climbed down the stool and decided to forget about the Sake. If he was already this delusional without any booze in his system… then he had absolutely no desire whatsoever to find out what would happen after he got tipsy. 'That's it! I'll eat my breakfast and then go and take a good nap. I'm starting to see things…'

"Excuse me!" came a voice from inside the cabinet, causing Keiichi to pause and ever so slowly turn around. He was almost certain whose voice that was, yet Keiichi refused to admit it, as if doing so would let him sink deeper in this insanity.

"No… you don't talk! Octopuses… definitely don't talk! Actually, scratch that! You're part of my imagination and-" Keiichi's monologue came to an abrupt halt when an empty salt shaker collided against his skull. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Just a reality check," said the octopus with a joyful tone that sounded almost innocent. At least for someone eager to toss condiment dispensers to people's heads. "That was part of your imagination too, _right?_ "

Reaching up to touch the spot where the salt shaker hit him, Keiichi had to admit that this felt too real to be a delusion. So, unless he had gone completely insane and couldn't tell the difference between reality and fantasy, he had to come into terms with the fact that for the second time in less than twenty four hours he was witnessing something out of this world. "No… it definitely felt real to me. Although… what are you doing inside my cupboard? _Who are you anyway?_ "

"Me? Oh, I'm here to deliver a message," said the octopus, before pausing for a moment and then start to look around the cabinet, until it found an envelope. "Aha! There it was! Alright, take a look at this, and it should answer a lot of your questions."

Accepting the envelope with some hesitation, Keiichi tore it open… and ended up with even more questions than ever before. "Huh? What kind of language is this? I don't recognize those characters at all…"

"Eh? You don't-" said the octopus, before it tried to take a look at the paper in Keiichi's hands and did the closest thing to a facepalm that a cephalopod could manage. "It's written in the gods' language, that's why you can't read it. I swear… they send me all the way here, and they didn't even bother double check the darn thing!"

"The… _gods'_ language?" asked the dubious mortal, as he took another glance at the note and then turned back at the peeved mollusk who was mumbling about how hard he worked to end up getting this kind of treatment. "Say… you're not from some crazy religious group that's out for commissions, right? I'm broke, so don't even bother."

"You know many groups who employ demonic octopuses? Because if you do… and they pay better, then _tell about it!_ " said the octopus in a sarcastic tone that felt even worse, considering that Keiichi was being mocked by an invertebrate.

As much as Keiichi wanted to point out how unlikely that sounded, a part of him still couldn't help but acknowledge that having an argument with an octopus didn't sound any more plausible either. Yet that was exactly what he was currently doing, and thus Keiichi tried his best to push his objections aside, so that he could find out more about this cryptic message. "If… that's the case, then how about you read it for me?"

There was a moment of hesitation as the octopus gave the message a better look, trying hard to figure out what was written there. "Let's see… _D Ear Kei-ii-chii… I woosh to ex..._ no… _sex?_ "

Furrowing his brows, the mortal in question didn't believe for a second that whoever sent him this letter was looking for some good fun with him. Especially not while the octopus struggled so hard to read something that should've been fairly straightforward for anyone who knew how to do so, leaving him with only one possible explanation. "Say… do you actually _know_ how to read the… um… gods' language?"

For a moment the octopus' normally red skin pulsed in a quick succession of colors, clearly displaying its annoyance at the mortal's insulting words. "What did you just say? I know that I'm not connected to Nidhogg so that I can read all manner of texts, but I did learn their stupid language at school!"

"Sure… and I'm _supposed_ to know two foreign languages but I can't quite say I'm all that fluent in either of them." Perhaps it was all the stress from the previous day getting the better of him, or even the sheer absurdity of arguing with an octopus, but either way Keiichi's voice came out a lot more sarcastic than normal. Which… unfortunately proved more than enough to trigger the already annoyed octopus who literally launched itself right at the unsuspecting mortal's face and latched onto him, trying to bite his nose with its beak.

" _Why you little!... You think I'm an idiot, don't you?_ " snarled the flashing octopus as it squeezed Keiichi's face hard enough to make him let out a pained squeak. " _I'll show you who's the idiot here!_ "

To say that he regretted his poor choice of words would've been an understatement, but at point it was far too late for regrets. All Keiichi could do now was try to detach the mollusk from his face and pray that he'd escape this ordeal unscathed.

XXX

 _Niflheim_

The pained cry echoing across the casino's main foyer caused more than enough of the patrons to gather around what quickly escalated from a mere argument to an all out fistfight. And judging by the looks of it, someone was losing it; _and pretty badly too_.

" _Y-You… goddess… bitch!_ " Picking himself off the floor, the demon staggered to his feet and glared at his opponent who watched him with an almost apathetic look on her face.

"The more you insult me, the worse it becomes for you…" said the casino's chief of security, as she strode confidently towards her stricken foe. "If a _bitch_ like me mops the floor with you… then what does that mean for you? Not that I care anyway… Just pay up and get lost. We don't want sore losers to the likes of you throwing in a hissy fit because they suck."

Even though her words came out without a hint of sarcasm, that in way infuriated the demon way more than any insult he could think of. He was easily twice her size and considerably more imposing than this slip of a woman that stood before him, and in his mind that was more than enough reason for her to respect him. Strength was everything when it came to demonic hierarchy and not only did she lack it, but the fact that she wasn't even a real demoness pissed him off way more than anything else. Of course the crowd they've gathered wasn't helping matters either, as his reputation was on the line, should he actually lost this fight. Which only prompted him to teach her a quick lesson before she tossed him out of the casino and in the process turn him into a total joke.

Any other day, Lind would've been somewhat annoyed by having to deal with yet another moron who thought that having bigger muscles actually meant anything for immortals. It was actually hilarious how such a flawed logic became so prevalent in these parts, but then again, stupidity was an amazing motivational force. So much so that her opponent was still at it, aiming a painfully obvious punch to her face, as if she was some total greenhorn who never got into a _real_ fight.

Waiting for the last possible moment to dodge what should've been a direct hit, Lind twisted her torso and without the slightest hesitation brought her palm into a painful collision with the demon's gut, knocking him a few meters back and in another embarrassing reunion with the floor. "Come on, at least put some effort in it. Or are you trying to make me feel guilty for using you like a punching bag?"

Taunting her opponent like that was a new experience for the former Valkyrie, since she never quite cared to rely on such dirty tactics in the past, deeming them as nothing more than a big waste of time. As a demoness though, Lind soon found that she actually enjoyed gloating over her foes, especially when they didn't quite pose her a serious enough threat to require all her attention to keep them at bay. That being said, it wasn't a foolproof practice, as she wasn't trained to maintain her level of awareness in the same fashion that most members of the demonic armed forces did, and on this occasion it was more than enough to leave her open for a split second that proved to be more than enough to receive a kick on her ankles.

Combat wise, demons were a hugely diverse group, with the most powerful of them displaying a certain level of respect towards their opponents that could be described as chivalrous, although not for some ethical reason. They did it simply because they _could afford to_ and they wanted those around them to know about it, too. On the other hand… the weaker amongst them was a totally different subject altogether, often relying in every kind of dirty trick imaginable to get the upper hand in a fight, and those without proper combat training were even worse.

In the split second it took her to regain her balance, Lind caught sight of a knife coming for her face, as the demon not only managed to get back on his feet, but also decided to pull a weapon on her. ' _Oh no you don't!_ ' Demoness or not, she was still a highly trained warrior and while she did make a single mistake, the same could be said about this guy too. As far as he didn't try hard enough, she wouldn't actually hurt him, but now… _real violence_ was fair game.

Moving faster than the demon could blink, Lind got out of way -even by a hair's breadth- and immediately caught her opponent's wrist, giving him a sharp twist to knock the knife out of his hand, and even kicked it across the foyer just for a good measure. Then with the immediate threat dealt with, she went on the offensive and grabbed the demon by his hair before she violently brought him down on a painful collision with her knee, smashing his nose and a good couple of teeth before she released him once again to fall onto his back like a discarded ragdoll.

"Want more, _tough guy?_ " With eyes glowing crimson behind her shades, and hands flexing as the demoness readied herself for a counterattack -should this wasn't enough to convey the message- the former Valkyrie was pleased to find fear evident in her opponent's eyes. Even some of the bystanders took a few steps back from her, and in the moment of silence that followed, Lind snapped one of her earrings from its place and turned it into its original form; a military grade battle axe she had somehow managed to get her hands on down here. While not nearly as efficient as her grade eighteen limiter she carried as a Valkyrie, it was more than enough to cause way more damage that the feeble knife her opponent pulled on her, and yet at the same time, prevent her from tear him into shreds with her bare hands.

"What's going on here?" Stepping into the foyer after hearing all that commotion, Urd was partially relieved to find that she arrived just in time to save that poor bastard from Lind's wrath. Not that she truly felt sorry about him, but if they ended up with a seriously wounded demon on their hands, then things could become unnecessarily complicated for them.

"Nothing new… Just a wise guy thinking he could run away without paying," said Lind, tiling her head towards Urd, yet without losing sight of the stricken demon.

" _Really?..._ " said Urd with a groan, rolling her eyes in frustration. This was the fourth incident of the month, and while Lind's reputation should've been a pretty effective deterrent, there were still those who probably saw this as a way to boost their own reputation, should they manage to beat her up. Of course, most of those wannabe thugs ended up beaten and humiliated instead, but that was none of Urd's concerns; and this was no exception.

Fixing the troublemaker a stern glare, the half demoness' eyes burned even more intensely than her bodyguard's, making the demon pale visibly at the sight of those crimson cat like irises. "Alright… get out of here now and I'll pretend this never happened. Should you insist though… you're going to lose a lot more than a few teeth."

She didn't need to repeat herself, as the demon picked himself up and went straight for the exit; not even bothering to collect his knife on his way out. However, as soon as he was gone, Urd couldn't help but notice the stares she was getting from not only her staff but also her customers. And while she initially thought that it was fear, it quickly became evident that there was something else in all those stares; a sense of respect and familiarity that Urd could only attribute to something so obvious that she could even hear someone utter under their breath; _Hild_.

It wasn't just thanks to her looks though, as that was already a well known fact across the demonic world, but mostly a response to that moment she forgot herself and acted just like her mother. As a goddess she did her best to avoid emulating her as much as she could, despite how futile it was at times, but ever since she got here, it was something that had its merits. Yet unlike other occasions, this time around she wasn't even trying to do that on purpose.

Shaking her head, Urd decided not to worry about it right now and approached Lind who was in the process of reattach her now condensed axe back to her earring. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I am. And if got injured from an asshole like that, then I really deserved it," said the former Valkyrie, only to pause when Urd started laughing all of a sudden. "Is something the matter?"

"Since when did you start using words like _that?_ " asked Urd between fits of laughter, causing Lind to tilt her head ever so slightly when she realized her slip of the tongue.

"I… I'm not sure. I guess I'm a bit more irritable as of late." It was a rather poor excuse of an explanation, but the only one the blue haired demoness could offer at the time. Even she wasn't entirely sure why she acted like that, although she was fairly certain that her current demonic nature wasn't enough of a reason to explain that sort of behavior.

"Is that why you started visiting strip clubs?" She knew all too well the perils of teasing her friend like that, but even then, Urd just couldn't help but get some payback for yesterday's comment, as unintentional that was. "Come on, we're both girls, so, there's no need to be shy about it. Actually, I dig that kind of stuff too, especially if they're nice and classy, and know how to shake their moneymakers."

" _Excuse me?! They're money…. what?!_ " Lind's face had turned into the same color as her current markings, but before she got far, it became apparent from the Norn's grin just what she was trying to do. "I reckon that this is revenge?"

"Maybe…" came the hybrid's reply, although in a noticeably playful tone. "Although in all seriousness, you did manage to recruit a pretty… _interesting_ individual. Don't let Fehu's mannerisms fool you… she was my mother's head maid, and that also means that she was one her bodyguards too. She may act all silly to deliberately throw you off, but you've accidentally ran into one of the most skilled warriors in Niflheim that was specifically trained to protect the Daimakaicho herself."

"Really?" Lind had to admit that she did notice some irregularities in Fehu's demeanor, but she never expected something of that magnitude. A highly skilled warrior was definitely a welcome addition to their cause, especially if she was indeed one of Hild's bodyguards. However, that was far from the only thing in Lind's mind, and at some point it was necessary for her to address the topic, instead of simply trying to push it out of the way. "I'm glad that I could prove to be useful for once, but…"

"If you want to apologize, then you can stop already, Lind," said Urd with a sigh. "It's not your fault for feeling frustrated, and I'm also more irritable than normal, even though I try to laugh it out and ignore the source of the problem. But given the circumstances, I have no doubts that you've got no love for the demons and I _am_ a half demoness, just like I've always been from the day I was born. So, it's not unreasonable that you may despise that aspect of mine, even though I still wish to cling onto that particular part, despite all that happened during those last couple of years. I'm not expecting you to act as if you understand something I have so much trouble accepting myself; just… try not to let it get in our way for now. Once we get back, I don't have problems if you wish to avoid me… as many others do."

Coming from such a poise and confident person, Urd's words baffled Lind to such a degree that all she could do for a while was simply stare at her blankly. "I… I may not be terribly happy with Hagall and her entourage, but that doesn't mean I'm overgeneralizing to include all demons, regardless of their involvement in our situation. And even then… I can't say I consider you a demoness, regardless of your actual ancestry. I'm not good expressing those things, but I know what it feels to be avoided and I'd rather not do that on someone else too."

The Norn raised an eyebrow as she had totally forgotten about Lind's nickname; the One Winged angel. It was a bit more tasteful than calling her _soul damaged_ , but most certainly it provided the warrior little to no consolation, knowing that so many of her fellow celestials considered her to be _defective_ or at the very least _abnormal_. 'Although come to think of it, I can't imagine how frustrating it must've been for her. With me, I've always knew why I was so different from the others, yet for Lind… her one winged angel must've been quite the shock.'

Urd herself had troubles with her own angel, as she mindlessly ordered her to never show up ever again, when she first came to meet her alter ego. It had been an almost traumatic experience to know that she'd never truly fit into celestial society, and that childish cry to escape that harsh reality was something she eventually came to regret. But the damage was done, and there were a few moments she pondered if taking another egg would somehow allow her to start over. Yet she chose not to, as tossing away World of Elegance would've been the biggest mistake of her life, and thus was forced to carry on as if everything was normal; despite knowing all too well that this far from the truth.

"I wasn't exactly avoided for no reason though. Yes, everyone knew about my ancestry just by looking at me, but then again, I never really tried to become accepted. I've always been quite the troublemaker and as I grew up, you could even say that I became even less worried about showing my… true colors," said Urd in much more somber tone than previously. "I don't want to bother you with details of my less savory deeds, but let's just say that I'm nowhere as reserved as my sisters. Thankfully neither of them took after me in that department, so at the very least I don't have that on my conscience. As far as others are concerned though… I'm far from what a goddess should be and in all honesty, I can't really say that I care."

"Then you must be braver than me," said Lind in such a low voice that was barely above a whisper.

"No, not really. I was lucky to have sisters like Belldandy and Skuld, always supporting me, even though they did it in really different ways. So, to say it was just me being stronger that the average goddess would've been a big, fat lie."

"I have no siblings, and my parents… well, they're far too busy most of the time," said Lind with a shrug. At the very least she was fortunate that her shades concealed her eyes, although the sadness was still evident in her voice, no matter how stoic she tried to be.

"Heh… tell me about it. My parents… that is my father and Ansuz were almost absent thanks to their jobs. So, I only had Bell and Skuld around for company… even though I sometimes had to act like the… responsible adult. You can imagine how badly that went," finished Urd with a slight chuckle, trying to avoid going into truly depressive matters that would've been utterly unhelpful in a situation like this. "Still… that doesn't mean you have to be alone. There are some people around you who might actually care, you know."

"Perhaps… although so far the only thing I've managed to do is to insult them."

"So what? Even the best friends end up arguing, Lind. Hell, I argue all the time with Skuld and we always forget about it, not even a few hours later." Giving the former Valkyrie a pat on her shoulder to get her attention and more importantly to make her look at her, Urd offered her a smile before she carried on. "Look, you had to vent and somehow ended up snapping at me. That's not a crime or even something to be ashamed for, Lind. Everyone has those moments, and I'm no exception either. What's done is done and that whole thing is already old news to me. Today we have a new day, and unless you truly wish to have nothing to do with me, we can leave it behind us."

"I… don't think ill of you, and I really wished to somehow make up for my blunder. I'm not sure if recruiting Fehu was the ideal method, but that's all I've managed to come up with," said Lind with a nod, just to make her point more obvious. "But, I think I understand what you're saying, so I'll do as you say and leave that incident behind us."

Lind even extended a hand in her direction, although Urd had different ideas, as a handshake was too formal and impersonal for her. Instead, she grabbed her into a tight hug that must've felt like eternity to the fiercely blushing Lind who had absolutely no idea what to do in a situation like this. Physical contact in such a context was simply something Lind wasn't used to, and it took her a great deal of effort to return the hug, as simple of a gesture as that was.

"Um… Urd?..."

"Shh… Just stay still and relax. I'm nowhere as good ad Belldandy when it comes to cheering others up, but… I don't want you to sound so negative again, okay?" murmured the Norn in Lind's ear as she kept her close. "Just remember that there might be some people who actually care, alright?"

"I… I will." It took some time and a great deal of effort, but eventually Lind did as being told and managed to relax. And as she did, she somehow got to feel… happiness, even though it was from something she never quite considered as nothing more than frivolous. "Thank you, Urd. I really appreciate this."

"That's what friends are for, silly girl! But anyway… let's clean up here and we can spend some time training. I think we can try something new now that we've got someone with your skills here."

Lind raised an eyebrow as she let go of the taller demoness, until she realized that Urd must've been referring to Fehu. And if that story about her being one of Hild's bodyguards was true, then Lind definitely wouldn't mind sparring with her.

"Actually, I'd love that."

XXX

 _Earth_

Standing outside of the apartment Keiichi shared with his sister, the youngest of the Norns checked her outfit for one last time before she attempted to introduce herself to a guy she'd normally wish to strangle for tempting her precious oneesama, although as much as she wanted, Skuld couldn't bring herself to dislike him. After all, it was Belldandy who developed a fascination with him, and not the other way around; meaning that the poor boy was actually innocent and didn't deserve her ire. More importantly though, after everything that happened during the last couple of years, Belldandy deserved some happiness and as her sister, Skuld had no desire to take that away from her.

If dating that guy would bring a smile back to her oneesama, then Skuld was going to make that happen. Whether the guy in question liked it or not… wasn't even a concern for the determined Norn of the future who came all the way here to _convince_ him not to run away and forget about Belldandy. It was unfortunate that mortals these days tended to overreact at the first sight of anything they couldn't understand, and for that very reason, Skuld didn't just teleport right in front of him.

So, instead of something as dramatic as that, she opted for a safer approach by showing up outside his door, just like any normal visitor. And to make herself look even less conspicuous, Skuld chose a fairly casual, earthly attire comprising of a pair of dark blue jeans with a matching jacket and a white tank top that sported a horizontal boob cutout… that was a tad too spicy for the faux adult's liking, although it did serve a rather unexpected purpose. Preliminary tests showed that she could reach her arsenal of explosives in roughly half the time it would normally take while in her adult 'mode' that complicated matters due to her _enhanced_ physique.

'I can't believe I had to make a diagram with all the testing data, just to avoid being grounded by mom. Okay… I may currently an adult thanks to my Time Accelerator Mk. III, but it's not like I came all the way here to hit on anyone! Seriously!... everyone treats me like a-… Wait… kids don't do that, so… maybe… a teen? Is that an improvement though?'

Feeling utterly confused from such complicated matters, Skuld had to admit that a kid's lifestyle was blissfully carefree and in a way not all that bad as she always made it sound like. Sure, she hated when others simply dismissed her opinion due to her _immaturity_ , all while _they_ were _even less_ mature than her, but at the same time an adult's problems weren't all that fun. As a matter of fact, Skuld didn't quite understand her mother's concerns when she first saw her dressed like this, but now that she thought about it, perhaps what Ansuz feared was that Skuld's arrival on the mortal realm could have some undesired side effects.

The Norn had actually read such scenarios in various manga, where sometimes a girl would try to play the matchmaker for an insecure guy and her best friend, only to end up up falling for the said bloke. From that perspective, Ansuz's concerns did make perfect sense to Skuld, as the last thing they needed right now is to turn this mess into one of truly epic proportions. Of course, Skuld already considered to simply come here in her natural appearance, but then she worried that she'd be simply dismissed as a mere kid, regardless of whether she was a goddess or not.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Skuld resorted in closing her jacket -just to be on the safe side- and rang the doorbell. Giving her Time Accelerator Mk. III a quick check, just to make sure that it was working properly and wouldn't suddenly switch back to her original state at the worst possible moment, Skuld was happy to see that her battery design was holding out just great.

However as several seconds passed without anyone answering the door, Skuld rang the bell once again and tapped her foot impatiently, wondering if she picked the wrong moment to show up. 'I could've sworn that I saw his sister walk out earlier, so, he should be alone in there. Don't tell me that he somehow got out while I wasn't looking!...'

Figuring out that this wasn't working at all, the Norn leaned against the door and tried to listen in for any hints of activity within the apartment, just in case she was right and Keiichi was indeed out. The unexpected sound of a crash however took her by surprise, as it was clearly evident that not only someone was inside, but more importantly that something horribly wrong was going on in there. And the worst part was that she was totally on her own, as she had insisted not to have any backup in order not to attract the demons' attention. Which was only partially the truth, since what Skuld mostly wished to avoid is have someone babysit her while on her first real mission on Earth.

A mission that was already proving to be nothing like what she'd initially expected, and right now Skuld was on the verge of a panic attack. She refused the offer of having a backup mostly out of her own selfishness and because of that, her oneesama's love interest was in a dire situation, with Skuld as his only source of salvation. And now that she became fully alert and paid a lot more attention to her surroundings, instead of worrying about stupid things like her clothes, Skuld could actually detect the distinct traces of demonic energy from inside the apartment.

 _They_ had already gotten here, and without any backup to help her stop them, a man was about to meet a gruesome end.

'No… no this… isn't… I… need to…' She didn't even care to hide it anymore but Skuld was legitimately shaking in fear. From what her mother had told her, most Valkyries felt that pesky emotion on their very first mission. Which in a way was a good thing as it kept them from going overboard and end up dead or seriously maimed, but in this case… she wasn't even a real Valkyrie; just a kid who barely knew how to fight and even needed a contraption to temporarily assume her adult form.

Skuld desperately needed to call for help, and hopefully get her mother here fast enough to save that mortal's life before it was far too late. But try as she might, the Norn just couldn't find her phone, as she decided to place it in one of her current outfit's pockets, although in her panic it was almost impossible to recall _which one_.

Until her hand brushed against a key-chain she had attached on her jeans, which caused Skuld to pause and look down at the item dangling from the other end; a tiny crystal her mother had given her prior her departure to Midgard. It wasn't any old trinket though, or even something that held some sentimental value for Skuld, but essentially the condensed form of something all Valkyries carried with them, regardless whether they were on duty or not. To Skuld though it was also a reminder of her mother's very specific directive when she requested to go on this mission on her own.

 _Go all out or go home._

With a mighty yank, Skuld snapped the tiny crystal from its chain and tossed it in the air, allowing the grade twelve battleaxe to fully resume its original form. And catching it on its way down, Skuld grit her teeth as she prepared herself for what was about to come. But not like the scared kiddo she was moments ago, but the daughter of Tyr and Ansuz, Norn of the future and… someone carrying enough bombs on her to count as a one goddess army.

'Okay you sons of bitches! You want a fight? _Well, I'll give you a fight!_ '

XXX

" _Ye~es!_ Cry foolish mortal!... Your tears are _so_ delicious!" laughed the demonic octopus as he watched Keiichi's futile attempts to hit it with a fork, only to end up tickling it instead. It was honestly the first time it actually got to scare the pants off a mortal and it was the biggest blast it ever had. So much so that it couldn't stop and let the poor guy go, as several decades of being nothing more than a lowly courier had taken its toll on the frustrated crustacean, and now that it got to strike fear at the hearts of men, there was no turning back. "I'm the great grandson of a mighty kraken! The scourge of the vast oceans who dragged many ships and their crews underneath the waves! You think a pathetic fork would do anything to _me?_ "

At the very least, Keiichi was no longer as afraid as he was moments ago, since this idiot of a mollusk was proving to be more of nuisance than a legitimate threat to his well being. Still, it didn't mean that he was comfortable to have this sucker stuck on his face and despite his valiant efforts to pinch this hellspawn with a fork, Keiichi was unsuccessful to make it let go of him. ' _Just leave me alone, you-_ '

As the octopus went on with its bragging about the fictional accomplishments of its ancestors, the sound of breaking metal followed by that of splintering wood reverberated across the kitchen. It was so loud and abrupt that not only made the mortal it was attached to jump, but also caused the octopus to literally turn white; but that was far from the worst part. A door knob went flying across the kitchen, along with splintered wood chunks that once used to be part of the front door, that narrowly missed the demonic octopus as they continued their flight trajectory to the opposite wall.

But that was nothing compared to the terrible visage of the pissed off goddess who just kicked the front door to oblivion and beyond. And while he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, the octopus could already tell that a goddess carrying a frigging battleaxe -regardless of her current attire- could only mean that she was a combat expert; or in other words… a Valkyrie.

And thus, the proud great grandson of a kraken did the only thing appropriate in a situation like this; detach itself from the mortal and let out a high pitched scream that would've made any little girl sound brave in comparison. " _MOMMY!_ "

Taking a few deep breaths now that his nose wasn't squished by the infernal mollusk, Keiichi was about to let out a sigh of relief, before an axe went flying in a blur mere inches in front of his face. Backpedaling in fear and without even trying to suppress a slightly more masculine scream than the one his tormentor let out a moment ago. Dealing with a talking mollusk was one thing, but an axe wielding woman with a crazed look on her face. ' _I'm gonna die! This time I'm gonna die for real!_ '

Trying to hit the fast moving octopus in such a tiny space required a level of skill and concentration Skuld had no idea that she possessed, yet she kept going on. It was almost like the katas her mother taught her, only with the added restriction of not turning this place into a scene of total carnage, especially if she accidentally hit the shivering mortal who sought refuge in the far end of the kitchen.

Despite the rather substantial weight of her weapon, Skuld managed to swing it around fast enough that it became all but a blur even in her eyes, until she finally scored a hit. Slamming the flat side of her axe against the octopus as she decided to catch it off guard by a somewhat unexpected move, as he opponent was most likely tracking the sharp edge of her weapon, Skuld sent the octopus in an almost perfect forty five degree collision with the kitchen's counter, followed by another one with the adjacent wall, until it finally hit the ceiling. And from there, straight back to the sender as they say, which… found Skuld in the most undesirable location of her anatomy, especially given her current attire.

" _EEek! Get out of there, you perv!_ " cried Skuld as she reached into her tanktop's cleavage cutout to dislodge the mollusk from where it ended up, and without much thinking tossed it onto the counter. She was blushing and quite profoundly too, while the stunned Keiichi could only stare at both her and the dazed octopus. But more than anything else, it immediately became apparent to the Norn that the blasted thing didn't came out of there empty handed. ' _Oh no! No, no… NO!_ '

The octopus had somehow got hold of a very peculiar cylindrical object, and no one aside from Skuld knew what kind of peril they were in. "Don't do anything! Just let that thing down and back off! I'm not kidding… Do what I say. NOW."

"Huh? You had a soda can hidden there?" asked the dazed mollusk, as it tried to recover from the impact to take a good look at what was carrying in its tentacles. "Hey, there's something written on it! N^2B?... Strange… Is that a new brand?"

"That's not a soda can, you idiot!" shouted the wide eyed Skuld. "It's a five kiloton non-nuclear explosive device!"

" _A five kiloton?!..._ " screamed Keiichi across the kitchen, with the octopus finishing for him. " _Explosive device?!_ "

As if things weren't bad enough already, the panicked octopus began to toss the explosive from one tentacle to another, not unlike a hot potato, causing Skuld to take a sharp breath. "Stop that, you moron! Do you have a death wish?! Just give me the bloody thing!"

"I-I can't help it!" yelled the panicked octopus, and then much to everyone's horror dropped the canister onto the hard floor.

Time itself seemed to slow down as the brunette goddess rushed to grab the fallen item and immediately turn to the closest source of water she could find within reach. Which turned out to be Keiichi's curry udon and dipped the N^2B right into the bowl, closing her eyes just in case she was too late; only to open them a couple of seconds later, when it was apparent that her last minute attempt to spare Nekomi from certain obliteration worked as intended. "That… was intense…"

With that particular problem taken cared of, Skuld turned towards the octopus, only to get a fleeting glimpse of its rapidly retreating form, as it took the opportunity to escape through the apartment's broken front door. "That's right! Get lost and don't come back you asshat!"

Picking up her discarded axe, Skuld condensed it back into its crystal form and reattached it to her keychain, until she remembered that aside from that blasted cephalopod, there was another person in the room. One she had originally come here to talk to, and was currently staring at her in stunned silence… from behind the kotatsu he had propped up to form a barrier. As if that was capable of stopping a rampaging goddess, but at least Skuld gave Keiichi some credit for trying. "Ah… um… hello there. I'm-"

The sound of the Norn's cell phone -which was in her jacket's right pocket all along- interrupted her, and with some hesitation she retrieved it and took one glance at caller ID on the screen to verify her worst fear. "Sorry, I need to take this…"

"Sure, go ahead…" said Keiichi, still trying to figure out what was going on here.

Taking a deep breath, Skuld braced herself as she hit the touchscreen and brought the phone closer to her ear. She knew she was in for a lengthy and not particularly pleasant conversation, but to ignore this call was something not she, nor any other celestial for that matter could ignore.

" **It is I. And for once, I'm really pleased with your… let's say accidental use of explosives.** "

Furrowing her eyebrows in utter confusion, Skuld stared at her phone for a moment to make sure that she wasn't imagining things. "Father? Is that really you?"

" **Yes, and before you ask, I do indeed feel alright. Although I suppose you have no idea what you've done, but… suffice to say that judging by the result, you've made your mother's day.** "

"Why? What happened?" asked the curious goddess, as she desperately tried to recall just where she sent that bomb.

" **You teleported that device in the middle of a swimming pool of a nearby luxury hotel. One that was reserved for a certain mortal and his demonic entourage. And while they've thankfully contained the blast out of their own self preservation, one of their protective barriers pinned the aforementioned mortal against the pool's walls hard enough to crush his ribcage.** "

" _Isn't that a huge problem?! I accidentally killed someone!_ " said the Norn with a gasp, as the unnecessary loss of human life was a punishable crime by celestial law.

" **Unfortunately… you didn't. He survived, even with a punctured lung. Which the demons patched up without much trouble, but still… I knew that one day you'd make us proud, daughter. Now, I'll have to leave you on your assignment. Good luck explaining things Skuld.** "

Hearing the unmistakable sound of the call being terminated, Skuld stood there for a good couple of seconds trying to process just what took place that earned her some words of… _praise_ , instead of a lecture, or heavens forbid… a license suspension. Still, it did prove to be more than enough to bring a smile to her face, as for the first time ever her father called her to congratulate her for any reason. Sure, she didn't quite get why that was, but right now, Skuld couldn't care less. 'He praised me! Father, really praised me! Although… what did he mean by explaining things?'

For a moment, Skuld seemed to have forgotten about the mortal behind the kotatsu, until she turned towards him and suddenly realized just what her father was talking about.

'Uh oh… this isn't gonna be fun at all. Maybe… I should've gotten that backup after all...'

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

Belldandy didn't have quite as much of a big role as some other characters here, but I needed to bring someone in the story to explain things to Keiichi. That and he's gonna need some help during the following up events. Although the word help is kind of relative here.

At least I hope it's pretty obvious who's the mortal that ended up with a punctured lung. Unfortunately, he survived, but then again, I wouldn't just kill him off screen.

Also keep in mind that this story takes place instead of the canon events of AMG, meaning that Lind's angel situation wasn't resolved. Sure, she currently has no angels at all, but her discussion with Urd reflects her thoughts prior to her initial introduction in the series, and heavily relies on her backstory.

If anyone wonder why I've included an N^2B (Non Nuclear Bomb) from the Neon Evangelion series… it's just one of Skuld's weapons. In the cover art of chapter 258 in the manga there's clearly an N^2B depicted amongst Skuld's explosives. Plus it was something considerably more destructive than her standard bombs, yet nowhere close as powerful than her anti-proton bomb.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

For the second time since her arrival on Midgard, the Norn of the future deeply regretted her decision to take on this mission unaided by a more experienced goddess. Just like her father predicted, offering a _plausible_ explanation to the mortal whose life she _seemingly_ rescued moments ago, was easier said than done.

Not that she remained totally silent after the demonic octopus had departed, but the awkwardness of the whole situation was so much that for the first time in her life, Skuld felt utterly embarrassed by her actions. Granted, she was under the assumption that Keiichi's life was in danger and acted accordingly, which was something that even the mortal in question had to recognize. Yet in hindsight, she should've taken her time to explain things in a more delicate and evasive fashion, offering one fact at a time, rather than bombarding the unnerved mortal with so much information that utterly baffled him.

Hence the _stare_.

It was the most direct, polite and yet brutal way a man could challenge another's claims, to the point where words were unnecessary. All Keiichi had to do was to ever so slightly lower his head as he maintained eye contact with the fidgeting goddess who tried her best to avert her gaze, and look at anything other than the passively aggressive mortal that refused to by the story she offered him.

That was until she spotted what used to be the front door's knob, that somehow remained embedded into the wall for all this time, and yet chose _this very moment_ to dislodge itself from its position, and end up onto the floor with a resounding clang.

Watching the metal object roll on the floor until it finally came to a stop, Keiichi let out a sigh at the absurdity of it all, especially as the scene around him acted as a constant reminder of what took place mere minutes ago. The splintered fragments of the front door lay around the kitchen and all the way to the adjacent living room, as well as the nearly torn hinges that were still attached to the door frame, left Keiichi with little doubt that the woman sitting across the kotatsu was far from normal. Yet accepting her explanation, wasn't something easy for him either. "Let's see if I got it straight… You're a _goddess_. Like someone who's immortal and has magical powers, and lives in heavens… or whatever you might call it? _That_ kind of goddess?"

"Yes, and it's called Asgard," said Skuld with some effort, still finding it difficult to talk to him. "I mean… where I'm living. But since most mortals call it Heavens, we kind of use that term to refer to our realm, or should I say realms, since we've got three of them and…" Catching herself, as she suddenly realized that explaining too much about Asgard, Vanaheim and Alfheim -the three aforementioned realms- wasn't all that important for the time being, Skuld simply shook her head and tried to stay on topic. "Um… anyway… Yes, I'm that kind of goddess."

"Right…" said Keiichi with a slow nod. "So… Belldandy and Peorth are two goddesses who got captured after an incident and that's why they're working for demons right now?"

"Yes, that's correct." At least, Skuld had to admit that Keiichi was simply finding it hard to believe, rather than being in total denial and freak out from the sudden revelation of the immortal world he had most certainly no idea that existed. "So… what do you think?"

"Honestly? If the next thing you ask me is that I need to take a blue pill or a red one… then I'm outta here," said Keiichi in a rather sarcastic tone.

"Huh? Why would I offer you a pill? I'm not Urd!" said the confused Norn, only to realize that she hadn't fully explained things to him, causing the dark haired man to stare at her in wonder. "That's my _eldest_ sister by the way, not the other one you've met yesterday. Belldandy's the middle of us three and I'm the… youngest. Anyway… it's Urd who has some sort of alchemy fetish and likes to try all sorts of potions on people; whether they like like it or not."

"Uh huh." Another slow nod, and at this point Keiichi no longer felt surprised by what he was hearing anymore. As a matter of fact, he was starting to get a headache from the absurdity of it all, and rubbed his temples while trying to make sense of this insanity. "Next thing you tell me is that the whole world runs in some sort of super computer, and there are bugs and glitches and all that stuff…"

While it was fairly obvious that Keiichi was merely joking, Skuld couldn't help but admit that despite that… his assumption was eerily close to the truth; at least an extremely simplified version of what was going on. "Um… although you're technically _incorrect…_ in a very abstract sense, you're not that far from the truth. We _do_ use a supercomputer to maintain the mortal realm -although our own worlds are totally outside of it- and there _are_ bugs in the System, too. Actually, my job is to maintain the Yggdrasil mainframe and eliminate those bugs in the most efficient manner-... Wait! Where are you going?"

"Like I said… I'm outta here. This is too sci-fi for my taste, even with all the fantasy elements thrown into the mix," said Keiichi as he got up from the floor and headed for the front door and realized that there was nothing there anymore. 'Oh, right… the door's gone. Now what am I supposed to do? I can't just leave and let anyone simply walk inside and steal everything.'

Realizing why Keiichi came to abrupt halt, Skuld knew that this was her golden opportunity to provide him with tangible evidence of her goddesshood; namely a short demonstration of repair magic. Even though she wasn't a real adult yet, the Norn of the future still possessed some powers that her mother actively encouraged her to hone over the last two years or so. As such, she had actually made tremendous progress -at least by her standards- in terms of using some relatively simple spells, and fixing the door should've been a breeze. "Wait! I've broken it, so let me do something about it!"

Looking over his shoulder, Keiichi wondered if she was about to offer him money for the door, but instead of that, he noticed that the goddess was murmuring something totally incomprehensible. And then, all of a sudden the broken pieces of the door levitated and rearranged themselves in mid air, before they flew towards the door frame. As if by magic, or rather… _because_ of magic, everything reassembled like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and then fused together, leaving absolutely no traces of any kind of repair marks, or even evidence that the door had been broken in the first place. " _What the?..._ "

Letting out a sigh of relief once she saw that the spell worked _as intended_ , Skuld couldn't help but feel proud of herself. Up to this point she was the _magically challenged kid_ who couldn't use the simplest of spells without messing them up somehow; providing that she even managed to cast them in the first place. Yet in a relatively short amount of time, Skuld had managed to catch up to most of her peers, and in certain cases even surpass them.

Still, despite her accomplishments, Skuld had to admit that her mother's strict and sometimes even brutal training regime, instilled a sense of humility that the young goddess didn't quite possess up to that point. Not that she didn't feel happy to make this much progress in such a little amount of time, but her past, less mature self would've been bragging about it already; yet not the _current_ Skuld. Sure, she was far from a real adult in any shape or form and without her sisters around, Skuld had no one to announce her accomplishments to, but still, she found the idea of doing that as… frivolous.

"I said that I'm goddess, didn't I?" Now that she was _certain_ that he had more than enough reasons to believe her, Skuld could finally smile and hoped that the only remaining hurdle was to convince him to help her with Belldandy.

Only for Keiichi to turn back to the door and try to find the mystery behind its miraculous restoration. "Hm… maybe mirrors? Or was it ball lightning?"

Making a mental note to never seek a wish granting career, Skuld now knew that her 'become like oneesama' daydream was just that; a foolish, childish dream. But if following one of her sister's example proved no good for her, then perhaps a change of strategy could prove to be all she needed to score a success. 'Okay pal, you asked for it!'

Reaching for Keiichi's shoulder as he was still busy inspecting the door, Skuld spun him around and then fixed him such a pointed stare that nearly made him jump out of his skin when he saw that look on her face. "Listen to me and listen well, because I don't like repeating myself! There are two things you never say to a goddess; one, that her bazongas are fake, and second, that her powers are a phony trick. So… do you want another demonstration, or should I cut straight to the point where I kick your sorry ass?"

"No! I'm good!" said Keiichi as he watched his life flash before his eyes, and shook his hands in front of him to appease her.

Releasing him, Skuld tossed her hair back in a quick motion and let out a content sigh. "Much better… Maybe there's still hope in you, boy! Although if you really want to be forgiven, you should at least treat a lady something she likes, or it won't mean anything at all. Words alone are cheap, and unless you want others to think you're cheap too, you need to back your claims with _actions_."

"S-Sure?"

'Success! Hey, who knew that Urd's silly ramblings actually had a practical use after all? Although… why the heck isn't she using normal words? I mean… _bazongas?_ What does that stand for, I don't even…'

Trying not to make too much of a big deal of things she knew nothing about, Skuld decided to focus on what she actually knew and looking behind her to make sure that Keiichi was indeed following her, she pointed towards their left. "In that case, how about we go to an ice cream store I've seen on my way here? We can discuss further about the situation once we treat ourselves something nice."

XXX

For once, Belldandy was happy. The news of Aoshima's little… accident, almost sounded music to her ears, no matter how much her past self would've frowned at such a notion. But… as demoness, she was permitted to enjoy the misfortune of others, _especially if they so much deserved every bit of it and then more._

It was quite shocking how much disgust that pathetic excuse of man stirred in her, to the point where she even reconsider whether mortals could be far more callous than the worst demon imaginable. At least the infernals mostly did their job in order to generate some sort of profit, while humans were capable of far worse acts for their own twisted sense of pleasure, which even most demons would've condemn as a sign of decadence.

Still, somehow her little sister transported a bomb right next to that guy, and the resulting explosion deflated not only his overblown ego, but his lungs too. The only good thing of having him survive that attack was that Skuld wouldn't carry the death of her conscience, and especially on such a young age.

Now if only _she_ got that bomb in her hands… she'd gladly shove it up a certain part of that mortal's anatomy that she'd rather not mention.

Pausing for a moment, as such a thought caught Belldandy by surprise, the former goddess had to admit that she never imagined that she'd ever become vindictive enough to even consider such a thing.

But that could wait for later on, as Belldandy had something to celebrate, and celebrate she did. Which was a totally new experience for her, given that she rarely got to do such a thing in the past, considering that her own sense of humility prevented her from making too much of a big deal out of her own accomplishments. Of course if it was something that had to do with her sisters, then she had no problems at cooking up a feast for them, but with both of them as stuck in administrative jobs and given Urd's history… those occasions were few and far between.

And with only Peorth as a roommate, Belldandy knew that a proper party would've been impossible; and not to mention that with the fellow brunette being unrelated to her, she worried that Peorth would perceive such a gesture in a potentially romantic way. Which was far from her intentions, yet Belldandy knew that misunderstandings could start with something as innocent as that, and thus opted for an alternative method of celebration. One that involved breaking yet another another one of Peorth's high scores on what she called a 'rhythm game' that her roommate bought upon their arrival on the mortal realm.

It was actually such a bizarre concept, as it differed from all the types of video games her sisters used to play, but the simplicity of it all, as well as the competitive element whenever Peorth joined in, proved far too amusing for Belldandy to pass on such a source of entertainment. A competitiveness that even pushed her to the point of acquiring the proper attire for such a physically intensive exercise, that primarily comprised of a blue leotard and a pair of white tights the Norn wore whenever she kicked Peorth's rear on the soft dance pads. Figuratively speaking of course, although on a certain occasion early on, it did happen in the most literal sense; albeit accidentally, when Belldandy got too caught by the stream of footing instructions on the TV and landed a rather cheap kick on her unsuspecting roommate and colleague.

Which given the fact that she was losing at the time, _felt absolutely fantastic_ , much to to the Norn's eternal shame. Whatever competitive streak she possessed must've been cranked up to eleven the moment she turned into a demoness, and despite her best efforts to hide it, Belldandy just couldn't help but acknowledge that fact.

That being said though, the Norn had also discovered aspects of herself she had previously ignored, or at the very least she was so busy that there no time left to explore them through extraneous activities such as games and the like. Back then, it was all work, work and… _yet more work_ , leaving her with almost no free time for herself at all, except what little she could spare to interact with her sisters once they returned from their shifts at the Yggdrasil complex. And even then, she never played video games with either of them, or simply lazy about chatting over other deities' personal lives -since Belldandy perceived that as being too nosy- and more than anything else, she never involved herself in her sister's arguments, which in a way was just another way for them to ' _play_ ' and at the same time, bond together.

However, an interesting side effect of her current predicament was that the Norn only met her job's requirements -and in some cases, begrudgingly too- which in a way, left Belldandy with plenty of free time in her hands to indulge herself in all sorts of hobbies she had never expected to even like before. Things like alchemy, that her elder sister so much enjoyed, since her cooking experience helped her a great deal to understand the basics of mixing ingredients and following some very specific procedures, as well as some more unfamiliar activities, like video games and even a couple of things she had to master in order to perform her current assignment. This involved dancing lessons for her live performances, as well as ear training classes that aimed to perform her skills as a vocalist. Which… despite her substantial experience and talent as a songstress, it provided her a new perspective and expanded her knowledge on the whole subject; knowledge that could come in handy even after she'd go back home.

Which she _would_ , sooner or later, that much Belldandy was sure of.

That explosion an hour ago proved to be more than enough to rattle her demon guard, since for most of them it was their first experience with celestial opposition, and quite possibly the first of many. And she could already see the signs of worry in some of them, as their reassignment here on Earth suddenly sounded a lot less of a free vacation and much more of an occupational hazard. Most importantly though, it did prove that the majority of those guards lacked a military background, and thus proper training on how to secure a perimeter and prevent others from opening portals too close to their location, and in the process allowing them to launch a surprise attack.

It was rather surprising if not shocking to realize that Hagall picked… amateurs for such an important job, although she reckoned that it must've been due to the uncertainty of who was loyal to whom in the post coup demonic society. A significant portion of the military -and especially in the satellite realms- were still loyal to Hild and merely tolerated Hagall as the former Daimakaicho's protegee, rather than allow one of her outright opponents become their new leader. Yet that left the new Daimakaicho little options but to avoid assigning some of her regular forces to guard the former goddesses, in fear that they'd probably return them back to Asgard in exchange of Tyr's support during a counter coup. Which simply meant that despite their current uniforms, her guards were nothing more that civilians with substandard combat training and little to no experience at handling the Fighting Wings.

Way more importantly though, as a holder of a Valkyrie license, Belldandy now knew for a fact that should the need arise, she could easily overwhelm several of them, or at the very least outsmart them and sneak by their not so perfect perimeter. A theory that Peorth was willing to test, and partially the reason why Belldandy cranked up the TV's sound to make sure that anyone outside would assume that she was playing a videogame with her roommate.

Originally, their idea was to send a message to Keiichi and explain the situation to him, but… once they received a text from Kaun informing them that his courier was intercepted by a Valkyrie, Peorth decided to give it a try and sneak past the guards once more, to pay Keiichi a quick visit and hopefully this time clear up the whole situation. Granted, Belldandy would've preferred if she was the one to offer that explanation, but Peorth insisted that so far she had more experience at sneaking around the guards, and that made her a much better candidate, especially since everyone was on high alert thanks to that explosion.

'Amateurs or not… I suppose we shouldn't push our chances far too much. I just hope that she'll manage to get to him and… I really can't wait to give this a try myself. I'd love to meet Keiichi again… Hopefully by then, this whole mess would be sorted out.'

XXX

 _Niflheim_

"What a magnificent performance! _Bravo!_ "

From the moment he got that dreadful report about the celestials' first move, Sokkmimir knew that this was bad news for him; yet he had no idea that they would drag him all the way to the Daimakaicho's throne room for… an emergency meeting of the Inner Circle. Which was more or less an excuse _those three_ came up to utterly ridicule him, and his choice of a security detachment to guard the former goddesses while they were on Earth.

Giving the most vocal of those traitors a vicious glare, Sokkmimir wasn't planning to sit idly and take more of his insults; not while _he_ was the second highest ranking demon. "Shut up, Surt! I'm tired sick of your backstabbing ways… _you goddess lover!_ "

Raising a eyebrow at Sokkmimir, the lord of Muspelheim wasn't sure whether to laugh or take that insult seriously; because it was the most pathetic excuse of an insult he had ever the misfortune of hearing. Of course, the biggest here issue was the fact that this idiot somehow got word of Ansuz's visits, yet thankfully enough he had no idea of their true purpose, or he would've already accused them for collaboration with the celestials. Which would've been more than enough of a reason for Hagall to have him arrested and even sealed, but if Sokkmimir was dumb enough to assume that in the middle of all this, Ansuz was seeking for a new way to find joy… well, he wasn't going to shoot his own foot by correcting his false assumption.

So, after making a mental note to seek Skrymir's advice on further security countermeasures to conceal his meetings with Asgard's second in command, Surt decided to do what he knew best; piss the Hell out of this idiot. "Oh, really now? Is that supposed to be an insult? After spending like crazy to get into a half _goddess'_ britches, you've got the nerve to call me _that?_ You _sugar daddy_ wannabe!"

"You're avoiding the question!" shouted Sokkmimir across the room, as he pointed an accusatory finger at Surt's hologram, before turning to the Daimakaicho. "Hagall-sama! I demand this demon's arrest! He's a traitor and a collaborator!"

"On what grounds? I don't think that he admitted anything that calls for such a measure," said Hagall, as she shifted on her throne and rested her head on one hand, while giving Surt a somewhat amused glance. "Or did you?"

"Of course not. And it's not suspicious to avoid an utterly ridiculous question," said Surt with a snort. "After all, he was so convinced of my guilt, then he would've presented some hard evidence. Yet all I hear are childish accusations, so you'll have to excuse me for not even bothering to offer a reply. It's just not worth my time nor effort."

Not a moment after Surt finished his sentence, the ruler of Jotunheim and head of the demonic Intelligence Sector took over. "And speaking of hard facts, I'd like to hear an official explanation on how a juvenile goddess nearly took out your security forces; singlehandedly, too. So instead of these obvious attempts to throw accusations around, I'd prefer to spend our time on something more constructive."

All four sets of eyes turned to suddenly silent Sokkmimir, who as much as he wanted, couldn't come up with a remotely convincing excuse for his demons' pathetic performance. Then again, not many were brave… or stupid enough to volunteer for such an assignment. Knowing that accompanying the two former goddesses in Midgard, was more than enough to deter most infernals, as it didn't take a genius to figure out that the celestials wouldn't just stand there with their arms crossed while they paraded those two as their trump cards. Of course, the obvious choice was to leave this task to their military forces, but with Hagall not being terribly popular amongst the ranks, who saw her as weak compared to her predecessor, it left Sokkmimir with no other choice but to pick whoever was available.

"I... I had taken the unique circumstances into consideration and…" Glancing over to Surt with a paradoxically expectant look on his face, Sokkmimir hoped that this loudmouth be kind enough to throw an insult, just to spare him of the embarrassment of babbling in front of the Daimakaicho herself. But the bastard only stared back at him, and with an amused grin, too. ' _Screw you and everything you stand for!_ ' Taking a moment to clear his throat and regain his composure, Sokkmimir did his best to finish his sentence with grace. "And given the sensitivity of the subject, I've reached the conclusion that the best course of action was to seen an alternative to the most obvious of courses. Such a measure was taken upon careful study of all the variables, and while there are undoubtedly some concerns, I reassure you that I'm actively re evaluating what changes in our strategy can ensure the optimal result."

' _The hell I just heard?..._ ' was the first thought that crossed not only Hagall's mind, but something shared by everyone else in this room, even though no one communicated it.

"You do that," was the Daimakaicho's simple reply, before she turned to Skrymir and offered him a level look. "In the meantime, I want an intelligence team on site, to better monitor the situation, and a full Ratatoskr detachment on permanent standby, should the need to evacuate them arises."

The announcement felt like a literal blow to Sokkmimir's gut, as it became apparent that out of sheer necessity, the Daimakaicho had no other option but to entrust Skrymir with that important task; and indirectly deem him incapable of fixing this mess.

"By your wish, Hagall-sama."

Nodding contentedly now that she had sorted this matter, Hagall decided to cut this meeting short, as the whole thing had been nothing more than a huge embarrassment; perhaps more so than all the random wishes her agents had granted back in the first day in office.

"Excellent! In that case, I call this meeting adjourned. Oh… and Sokkmimir… I hope this will be the last time I'm addressing this little… issue."

"Y-Yes, Hagall-sama! It won't happen again!"

XXX

 _Earth_

Ringing Keiichi's doorbell yet another time, the brunette-turned-blonde let out a frustrated sigh. Considering how popular she and Belldandy were, Peorth had to take a lot more precautions to keep others from instantly recognizing her. Which aside from hiding her facial markings, as they were the most striking feature everyone noticed on every immortal, it also included a radical change of outfit styles, with Peorth now dressed like what in Japan was known as an office lady; complete with even a pair of fake eyeglasses.

'Good grief… what's taking him this long? Surely, whoever that Valkyrie is, she should know that I'm not a mere demoness.'

Tapping her foot impatiently as she checked her watch, Peorth worried that perhaps after Kaun's attempt to contact Keiichi, that Valkyrie suggested his relocation to a safer place. However, she had not the time nor the means to go about a game of hide and seek with her, and as such, the faux blonde needed a plan B.

The only problem was that most kinds of search spells were out of question, as not only they'd scare Keiichi's guardian into keeping a low profile, but it could also give her own position away and alert the guards that she's gone missing. However, the moment she thought that, a rather noticeable surge of celestial power caught Peorth's attention, causing her eyes to go wide in utter shock.

'Is there another fight going on?... And it's so close too! Although… it's kind of strange. I cannot detect any blood lust in that signal,' mused the demoness, as she tried to analyze that rather brief burst of goddess energy. Yet the more she tried, the more convinced she became that not only it wasn't a case of a fight, but quite the opposite. There was the telltale sign of pleasure encrypted into that signal, and that by itself was even more worrisome to her than her initial explanation. 'Oh, no… don't tell me that-'

Peorth didn't even wish to consider the possibility that one of their own may had taken an interest in the charming mortal, as she found it highly unlikely that they've told her about Belldandy's… more than obvious feelings for the man. And as much as she hated to do it, Peorth had to scare that amorous Valkyrie away from Keiichi, before she ended up messing things up for Belldandy.

'I don't believe it! The first goddess sent to help us, and she's hitting on Keiichi! Alright.. I did that too, but… only to push Belldandy's buttons! Someone had to! But this… this… _Argh! I need to find them!_ '

Looking towards the direction of the energy signal she previously picked, Peorth made a rough estimate of their current location and immediately sent off to put an end to whatever unwanted romance was going on here. And while she used to build bridges between lovers back in her goddess days, Peorth now had to burn this particular one, before it was far too late.

XXX

"Ah… that hit the spot!"

Leaning against her seat, the _utterly satisfied_ goddess of the future finally decided to set her spoon down. She didn't even seem bothered by the astonished stares she was receiving from all across the store, after witnessing her superhuman feat of consuming a colossal order of _fourteen Jumbo sized Sundae_ in less time than it took for Keiichi to go through half of his own order; which of course consisted of only one of those supercharged ice cream desserts.

As a matter of fact, Keiichi had no doubt that Skuld would've carried on to decimate at least another colossal order like that, but eventually gave up only due to the fact that the shop ran out of some of the less common flavors, and she wouldn't settle in for anything but the full experience. Which of course begged the question how could anyone have such a voracious appetite, and yet maintain that silhouette. 'She's not a human… There's no other explanation.'

Even if he ignored the monstrous intake of calories, there was no physical sign that the woman across the table had just consumed so much ice cream, and for a moment the same word popped into his mind; _goddess_. That's how Skuld described herself, and no matter how much he tried to rationalize what happened back in his apartment, with the hope that it was all some sort of a crazy delusion, the facts started to catch up to him. She was a goddess, and her sister wasn't a human either.

More importantly though, Belldandy was a prisoner, just like Peorth, and for some reason he was part of Skuld's plans to set them free, although he had no idea why someone as powerful as a goddess needed his assistance. "Can I ask you something?"

The sudden question brought Skuld out of her daydreams, and with a shake of her head she turned her attention to the mortal across the table. "Yes, what is it, Keiichi?"

"I was just wondering… well… what you really wanted from me," said the dark haired man, until he noticed the thoughtful look on Skuld's face and worried that he may had somehow insulted her. "I mean, what _can_ I do to help you with your sister?"

"For the most part, I think that moral support is going to be crucial for her. Even I don't know when my father plans to stage a rescue mission, but considering that he's taking his sweet time, I worry that Belldandy's going to get really impatient. Up until now she spent most of her time in Niflheim, which made it all but impossible for us to reach her without starting up a conflict with the demons," explained Skuld with a frown. "But now that she's here… I cannot help but worry that she might be wondering whether we've abandoned her. Which we didn't, yet… I can't quite do much on my own. So, anything that'll make her happy is a welcome change."

Nodding idly, Keiichi resumed eating his ice cream, since that gave him the opportunity to sort his thoughts out. There were a lot of things he didn't know about this whole situation, yet there was one in particular he really wished he could get an answer for. "Look, I understand what you're trying to say, but… why _me?_ I barely know Belldandy, so, wouldn't _you_ be a much better candidate to offer her moral support? You're her own sister, after all, while I'm just some random guy she met at a party." Yet as soon as he said that, Keiichi realized that there was something he had actually missed. During his conversation with Belldandy, she did claim to know about his past as an amateur racer, which sounded pretty normal at the time. But now that he was aware of her true nature, and even the fact that she must've been in a totally different world while he and the rest of the Motor Club members took part in those races, Keiichi had no idea how she came to know all that. And judging by the skeptical look on Skuld's face, who wasn't terribly eager to offer him an explanation, he started to suspect that there was something else going on here.

"Um… you ice cream is melting…" It was such a poor excuse to divert his attention to something other than this particular topic, that Skuld struggled not to wince at her inability to come up with a convincing lie. After all, she couldn't tell him the truth; not without making Belldandy seem like some sort of cyber stalker. Not that she was terribly happy that her big sister spent who knows how many hours watching this bloke's life, instead of paying more attention at… her, but this wasn't the right moment to reflect upon such thoughts.

'You won't answer that, huh?' Using the ice cream as a convenient excuse to recollect his thoughts, and come up with another way to get some answers, Keiichi stole the occasional glance at Skuld, who also wondered what to do about this situation.

Yet unbeknownst to them, there was another in the store who was watching them; and quite intently too.

XXX

 _Low Levels, Niflheim_

"That's it! Sway those hips harder! And bring that knee higher! Come on, you!"

Two almost simultaneous smacks could be heard over the loud music, soon to be followed by the sound of breaking glass.

"Ow!" Rubbing her rump, where her _instructor from Hell_ decided to hit her for umpteenth time -and with a riding crop of all things- Urd glanced at her fellow trainee, and unwitting participant in what felt more like torture than an actual training session. She was worried that her blue haired friend would snap at any moment now, as the surprisingly sadistic Fehu didn't spare the former Valkyrie from what she called as a _warm up exercise_.

Thankfully for everyone involved, despite the intense glare she was giving their auburn haired instructor, the warrior managed to hold back. Instead, she looked down at the deformed remains of what used to be a pair of champagne glasses that she attempted to repair several times already.

"What are you staring at?" came Fehu's commanding voice. "Put those things together and let's keep going! It's still half an hour until you get a break, so, don't even think about it!

"I can't really repair them."

Despite soft, the former Valkyrie's voice caused Urd to look up from her own pair of glasses she had just repaired, and blink. This was the first time Lind had addressed Fehu directly, since they've started this brutal training regime. Performing aerobic exercises while balancing a glass… on each hand and without the assistance of magic was something that started to sound like an impossible feat; yet frustratingly enough, Fehu had already demonstrated them that it could be done. Which further proved their assumption that the auburn haired demoness was no ordinary maid, as the skill, agility and sheer precision she exhibited was enough to make even Lind watch her with wide eyes. And probably the sole reason why the former Valkyrie tolerated this abuse, as the whole point was to teach both of them how to perform this routine without breaking a single glass.

Needless to say, for the last half an hour or so, all they've managed was to fail spectacularly, and considering that they were trained by a _genuine_ demoness, her regime was far more brutal than what they were used to.

"Don't tell me…" sneered Fehu as she inspected the deformed shape of what… could be taken as a glass… with some abstraction, and a lot of imagination. "As long as that thing remains balanced on the tray, I don't care whether it's a champagne glass, or… what looks like a dildo reject; and a pretty bad one at that."

Out of all the possible responses one might've expected of Lind, confusion wasn't on top of their list. Indeed, the blue haired warrior stared at her instructor for a few seconds, expecting some sort of an explanation, and given that Fehu provided none, Lind took the initiative. "What's a dildo?"

The stunned silence that followed was only interrupted by the sound of Urd's sniggering, as the Norn struggled not to laugh at her friend's naivety. Only to prove a task far too difficult for Urd, who had no idea how to deal with the extend of Lind's naivety.

And while the Norn of the past started to cackle, Fehu let out a drawn out sigh and dropped her riding crop to the floor. "You're amazing at putting things out of perspective…" said the demoness, addressing the still confused warrior. "Okay… since this is our first session, I suppose I could go easier on you two. So… since you've already started breaking those glasses, we might as well try to teach you how to use repair magic."

"Actually, I'd appreciate that," admitted Lind, even if it meant that she would accept a demoness' help. "However, you haven't answered my original question."

Raising an eyebrow, while trying to ignore Urd's laughter that only became louder, Fehu gave Lind a level stare, but no matter how much she tried to detect any hints of dishonesty, there was nothing to found. 'I don't believe it! She's for real! Hm…' Tapping the side of her chin, Fehu wondered if she could put the former Valkyrie's naivety to good use, and as much as she found it risky, it was worth giving it a go.

Motioning for her lean forward, Fehu awaited for the curious former goddess to do as being instructed, before she began to whisper something into her ear.

Much to Urd's confusion, as the Norn calmed down and wiped off a tear after her previous fit of laughter. 'Wait a second! Don't tell me that she's going to explain _that_ to her? Although… if that's the case… then why isn't Lind freaking out? Why is she looking at _me?_ '

XXX

 _Earth_

For the first time in quite a while, Peorth was utterly dumbfounded. The Valkyrie, or rather… the goddess who was most certainly _not_ an official member of the Fighting Wings, proved to be an eerily familiar face; yet one she found it almost impossible to recognize at first.

'Goodness gracious! When did she grow up like that? How? It was just two and a half years since I last saw her. Surely… that not enough time to get _this_ old!' However, that was by far the least of the faux blonde's concerns, as she kept spying on what she positively identified as a happy couple; and couldn't help but frown. 'Besides… what's up with that?! I understand that Keiichi's kind of cute and all, but… why of all goddesses did Skuld decide to hit on him? Didn't anyone bother to tell her that he's her sister's amore? Is it something that runs in their family? Who's next? Their mother?'

"Mama, that lady looks scary!" come a voice from behind Peorth, causing her to look over her shoulder, where a middle aged woman rushed to pull her overly curious daughter away. "Don't point dear! It's rude!"

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Peorth took a moment to reassess the situation. 'And to imagine that they used to think that _I'm_ the one without morals… _To Hell with this!_ If Ansuz-sama drops by and starts to flirt with him _as well_ , then I'm joining in for the orgy! Just to put things into perspective!'

Unfortunately she was too far for them to actually hear what they were talking about, but the smile on Keiichi's face that mirrored that of his brunette companion, left her with little doubt as to what was going on here. 'What a mess! I was so excited to talk to a goddess after all this time, but… If I try, I might end up pulling her hair instead!'

This whole thing had gone totally wrong, and in ways that Peorth would've rather preferred that it didn't. The whole idea was to meet Keiichi and do what Kaun's courier failed to accomplish; deliver a simple message to the boy, so that this stupid situation could be finally resolved.

But… he was far too busy flirting with the not so young Norn of the future… and not that she minded it either. ' _What are they thinking?_ I mean… _seriously!_ We're _right here_ and instead of staging a rescue, they sent someone to make sure Keiichi _gets laid? The Hell's wrong with their priorities?!_ '

She was very close to simply walk up to them and wreck their little date, but eventually Peorth decided against it, as she wasn't sure that regardless of the circumstances, Belldandy wouldn't want her to assault her little sister. However, that didn't mean she wasn't going to do _something_ to bring this travesty to an end. Turning around, the fuming demoness headed straight for the hotel to find Belldandy, and while she had to approach this… subject in a somewhat delicate manner, that didn't mean she would leave the poor lovestruck Norn dream of a meeting with a guy who in meantime was flirting with her little sister-turned-adult… for whatever mysterious reason that came to be.

'Just you wait! I'll show you! _Both of you!_ '

XXX

"Like I said, the balance isn't much of an issue as long as you go easy on the throttle while turning," said the excited Skuld, happy to find someone who actually shared her interests for a change, instead of the stereotypical, one liners to the likes of ' _this is so nice_ ' she mostly got from others back home. At least from those who could lie, since most of the others simply tried to remind her of their busy schedules.

"Even so, with two turbos, I don't think that my bike's frame will handle the stress. I mean, it's just an old bike… not a brand new, high performance, racing bike," said Keiichi, who for once was actually enjoying having a conversation about anything mechanical related. This was actually the first time since the days of the Motor Club that he discussed a potential mini project of sorts, instead of the much more… mundane things he had to deal these days. Still, the pragmatical mind he was, Keiichi couldn't help but point out one particularly glaring hole in the goddess' logic. "However, even if we somehow reinforce the frame, the addition of two turbos to my bike will cause yet another problem, I don't even think that it's one we could resolve in any way."

"Is that a challenge?" asked Skuld with a haughty look on her face. "Because there's nothing I can't fix! So, bring it on!"

"Well… with two turbos… the fuel consumption will increase to the point where I don't think I can afford riding the bike anymore," said Keiichi with a pitiful frown. "You know, I kind of mentioned this before, but… I'm more or less broke."

Letting out a drawn sigh, Skuld leaned back on her chair and scratched her head. "Okay, okay… I got your point. I've got a specialty in engineering, not in economics." Still, it was far from a totally pointless waste of their time, as she did manage to hold a fairly normal conversation with him, instead of talking about things that sounded totally alien to the mortal. Hopefully, not only he would see her as person rather than an almighty goddess, but in the process the same would be true about Belldandy too.

Which seemed a rather effective strategy, given that Keiichi started to relax around her, and perhaps even remembered his college days, when he lived a much less stressful lifestyle. As ironic as it sounded, despite all the struggle to keep up with not only his classes but his living expenses, Keiichi's meager allowance made it possible for him to enjoy some activities that were now all but impossible. These days he tended to drive his bike as sparingly as possible to save fuel and thus keep his expenses as low as possible, which meant that he rarely had the luxury of taking the scenic route around the surrounding hillside, like he used to do whenever he wanted to blow off some steam and recharge his batteries, so to speak.

However, that had nothing to do with his present situation, and more importantly, what he wanted to do. It was obvious that Skuld was trying to drag him into a potentially dangerous ordeal he wasn't sure he would wanted to take part in. Or rather, what Keiichi found suspicious was the goddess' insistence to help her, when she was way more powerful than he'd ever be. So, there had to be something else she wanted from him, yet despite how friendly she seemed to be, Skuld avoided to even give him a hint as to what his true usefulness in this particular endeavor was.

At that moment, the distinctive sound of a sports car caught his attention, causing Keiichi to look outside the window, only for him to frown at the sight of a red Ferrari. Few people around these parts owned such an expensive car, so he didn't even need to take a good look at the driver's face to know who was behind the wheel. "Aoshima…"

"Huh?" Blinking at the unexpected mention of one of her big sister's… current bosses, Skuld followed Keiichi's gaze to find the aforementioned mortal across the street, waiting for the traffic light to turn green. "Wait that's… that's the guy you met yesterday, right? When you were with bi-... I mean… Belldandy, right?"

"Yep, that's the scumbag himself," said Keiichi and immediately went for his wallet, pulling out a couple of bills to pay for their expenses and as he left them on the table, Keiichi motioned for the Skuld to follow him. "Quick! Let's get going before we lose sight of him!"

"O-Okay?..." She was uncertain as what was going on here, but Skuld rushed after the surprisingly determined mortal. This was no longer the same timid man she was dealing with moments earlier, and to some degree she could see why this kind of personality might've attracted her big sister's attention. A pretty face alone wasn't enough of an of a justification for someone such as Belldandy to go after, and as she hopped onto the sidecar of Keiichi's parked bike, Skuld did steal a few glimpses of the mortal's eyes. 'He kind of reminds me of oneesama whenever she gets that steely look on her face.'

"Um… Why are going after him?"

"You want to help Belldandy, don't you? Well… he's probably one the biggest problems she has to deal with on a daily basis," replied Keiichi, even though he wasn't totally sure about that. A lot of things he didn't knew could be going on, but either way, judging by yesterday's incident, he had no doubts that this was all but the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Hitting the clutch, he immediately tried to pick up as much speed as he could in order to catch up to Aoshima's Ferrari, especially as he didn't seem to be in a particular hurry.

Truth to be told, Keiichi had no idea what they were supposed to do once they caught up with him. He reacted so spontaneously that there was no time for coming up with a plan of action, or even determine what his intentions were. The only thing he did know was that he had a goddess with him, and given what he saw back in the apartment, he now had a chance to even the odds.

"Alright! Hold on to your seat! We're gonna get that damned guy!"

XXX

 _Low Levels_

"This is the only room we can spare, actually. It was originally meant for the casino's bar, but then Urd decided to have the bar a dedicated shop inside the building. And to avoid the internal competition, we left this room unutilized, just in case we needed it in the future."

Glancing in Fehu's direction, Lind had to admit that even she was curious as to what the auburn haired demoness wanted a room for herself all of a sudden. Not only did Fehu never provide her for the explanation she originally wanted, which much to her eternal embarrassment was resolved by an online search on InfernalNet; a search she now wished she'd never performed, and will forever be on top of her personal list of regrets. But Lind wasn't such a petty demoness to hold a grudge over such a ridiculous reason, so, in the end she decided to humor that sadist's request for a spare room they could lend her.

"Hm… it's actually more spacious than I've originally expected! I'll take it!" said Fehu, in her typically cheerful manner; at least whenever she wasn't in her 'sensei mode' as Urd called the demoness' inner masochist.

The former Valkyrie didn't even wish to know what other aspects of this demoness' personality they had yet to experience, as she had no desire to end up making more online searches for whatever depraved and utterly debased interests this woman might have. She may had actually come to acknowledge her physical skills which were further backed by something she only came to notice during their training session. While concealed under Fehu's tight uniform, Lind could definitely distinguish the shape of a certain type of daggers typically employed by only one particular group of demons she knew; _assassins_. Which in retrospect explained a lot of Fehu's personality quirks, as well as her position under Hild, considering that the former Daimakaicho most certainly employed her for her combat skills, even though her domestic ones were far from bad.

Contrary to what most people wanted to believe, demonic assassins weren't some sort of boogeyman clad in dark cloaks who stalked their victims from behind their scenes, looking for the first opportunity to stab them in the back. Most of them were virtually indistinguishable from the average demon, and often lived a totally indifferent life as far as anyone else could tell. Something that also applied to Fehu, who clearly used her upbeat and carefree persona as a cover for the darker aspects of her psyche. Or maybe those were actually quite real, yet the demoness' professionalism allowed her to lock them out whenever she felt that they were more of hindrance than an asset.

Whatever the case may be with her, Lind was almost sure that if Fehu wanted to help them, then she was neither going to protest, nor look down on her. "Very well, I'll inform Urd that-"

"Actually, I'd prefer if you didn't bother her with such tiny details. I only need a place where I can exercise and keep myself from going too rusty," said Fehu dismissively. "In the meantime, Urd has to focus on finding a new way to come into contact with her sisters on the mortal realm, and you need to improve that repair magic of yours."

"I understand." In reality she was quite suspicious of Fehu's intentions, Lind needed to check on Urd, especially after she heard of the rumors that her little sister came into contact with Keiichi. "I'll take my leave then."

Nodding, Fehu turned her back and inspected the room, waiting for Lind to leave. Only then did the demoness' smile turn into a wicked grin.

XXX

 _Earth_

Toshiyuki Aoshima was having a bad day. Not only did he spend most of his morning in a hospital, all thanks to little miss perfect, but the moment he decided to relax in the pool, resulted him getting a lung punctured. To say that he was annoyed would've been an understatement, especially since this stupid setup had offered him none of the benefits he had initially expected. Sure, he was making more than enough money to claim that he was working hard, when in reality he hardly did anything at all, but at the same time, he wanted _them_.

Those two former goddesses seemed like the perfect candidates to let him enjoy life, without bothering to date any more of those scrawny local wenches that were flatter than floorboards. When he first found out about Sayoko's deal with the Devil so to speak, Aoshima knew that unlike anyone else accompanying them, those two were essentially prisoners, and as the Vice President of Mishima Records, he thought that he would get to enjoy the benefits of this arrangement.

 _Namely, their bodies_.

By all means they should've been at his mercy, and it's not like he hadn't tried, either. In more than one occasions he attempted to bribe them with expensive presents, or take them out for dinner; pretty much his standard methods of winning them over. Only for them to turn him down every single time, leaving him no other option but try some of his more… forceful methods.

 _Dating rape drugs had no effect on them._

Perhaps he was over optimistic to think that a human made drug would affect an immortal, but given their appearance, he just had to give it a try. There was no observable effect, and on one instance they did take notice that something was added into their drinks, which made him stop trying before anything bad happened to him, all thanks to that idiot Welsper.

That idiot loser was apparently all too eager to please Belldandy with his ridiculously obvious, and by the looks of it, totally ineffective methods. After all, there was no way they'd fall for their captors, no matter how desperate they were, and as a result, the only thing that moron accomplished was to get in _his_ way. Thanks to him, Aoshima couldn't push them too hard, or even ask some of their guards for help, since Welsper was technically in charge of them, and prohibited anyone from even getting too close to them; unless they attempted to pull an escape.

To a certain degree, Aoshima had to admit that playing the nice guy was kind of a viable method of winning their trust. Pretending to care about them or acting only because he had no other choice, or maybe even imply that if it wasn't for him, than someone much… much worse would've certainly abused his position and in the process… them too. All those were methods Aoshima had considered as well, but after seeing how inefficient Welsper's attempts to woo Belldandy were, he didn't even bother trying for something similar.

Unfortunately, Welsper must've been for real, as even the most optimistic person would've given up by now and try a different approach. But with him refusing to even consider coercing them via other means, that ridiculous moron ended up being nothing more but a hindrance for him.

Even Sayoko was holding him back by her sheer lack of ambition. Starting up a successful record company was a good thing, but it had its limits. With such powerful beings working for them, they could've accomplished way more than just selling stupid CDs. By manipulating others in ways that no other mortal could, they could've gained a lot more than just money; influence and political power was within their grasp, should those songstresses uses their abilities to brainwash the masses to become Japan's next leaders. Or, they could even use the Daimakaicho's influence to further gain further power, by manipulating the stock markets on a global scale.

He didn't even care for the glory and the popularity, since that was Sayoko's thing anyway. Aoshima was more than content with being the second in command, reaping the benefits of having unlimited money and power at his disposal, yet without the media's attention trained on him. Instead of wasting his time with pointless interviews and press conferences, he'd rather enjoy the best things life had to offer, probably in a private island with those two as his personal sex slaves to use in any way he wanted. And since Sayoko wasn't a lesbian -to the best of his knowledge anyway- he doubted that she'd strongly oppose his claims on them.

 _Instead, all they ever did was sell stupid CDs_.

Letting out a sigh, Aoshima hoped that this little chance to blow off some steam would've paid off, but driving through the city traffic proved hardly the distraction he so desperately needed. Most likely he'd have to go back downtown and try to find a foolish girl for a quick trip to a love hotel.

The sudden of something impacting on top of his Ferrari's roof kind of brought him out of his thoughts, but the lack any other sounds convinced him that it must've been his imagination.

"I swear… that stupid bitch hit my head hard enough to make me hear things, and everyone just lets it slide. As if… it's fine for her to treat me like an extra from a slapstick comedy gag or something… The nerve! We should've beaten her for that, but _no…_ let's not place a finger on her, and instead, pamper her like a spoiled princess even more! These guys even call themselves demons! Ha! If only they let me give that nasty wench the treatment she truly deserves, then none of this would've ever happened!"

XXX

"Well? Did you hear anything?" Eying carefully at the goddess seated in his sidecar, Keiichi had to give her some credit for how resourceful she was. As they started to catch up to Aoshima's sports car, the goddess insisted to keep a distance and give her little spy drone a chance; just in case that guy happened to talk on the phone or something and they could gather some useful intel. So, after sending a small saucer like drone that eventually came to land on top of the Ferrari, the brunette goddess plugged some earbuds onto her controller and listened in carefully to what her machine's ultra sensitive sensors picked up.

Yet, despite his attempts to get an answer as to what she was listening in, Skuld remained utterly unresponsive. Or rather, she remained silent, since Keiichi could easily see the intense hatred in the goddess' eyes, even through the helmet he insisted that she had to wear while they chased after that guy. 'I mean… if she heard nothing at all, then she would've already said so,' mused the mortal, before giving it one more go, but this time a lot more assertively. " _Skuld!_ "

Despite hearing him just fine the first couple of times, the Norn chose not to respond only because she genuinely had no idea how to. What she listened in from her drone's feedback was so callous... _so infuriating_ , that Skuld found herself struggling to maintain her cool and not to throw a temper tantrum. But she wasn't the calm and collected Belldandy, nor the confidence and poise Urd, who would've most likely come up with a fitting way to punish _that bastard_.

All the experience of exchanging ' _insults_ ' with Urd meant _nothing_ compared to the words she wanted to use in order to properly describe this pathetic excuse of a human being. Perhaps her mother was correct in a way, when she first warned her that she was a bit too young and inexperienced to handle a situation like this, but what Skuld couldn't understand was _why_. As it turned out, Ansuz's concern wasn't about her physical or magical weakness, or even some sort of mental immaturity, but rather the environment she was about to be exposed to. This was by far nothing compared to the relatively sterile Asgardian society, but a place where people expressed all sorts of viewpoints that would've utterly unacceptable by celestial standards.

Yet worst of all, the idea that her sister was living close to such a sick individual who saw her as nothing more that a tasty piece of meat, left Skuld utterly shocked. Back home, other deities held Belldandy in high regard, and while she _was_ aware that her attractive looks didn't go unnoticed and certainly contributed to her popularity, _this_ was on a totally different level. To that Aoshima character, Belldandy's personality meant absolutely nothing, and not just as a goddess -or demoness as she unfortunately was at the moment- but as a living being in general. Sure, not everyone loved her sister; that much was to be expected no matter how charismatic Belldandy was. Yet whether they saw her as friend or foe, at the very least they did consider her as a person, and to have someone who wasn't even willing to give that much was something Skuld wouldn't permit. "I'm gonna _wreck_ his day."

Startled by the unexpected statement, after waiting for so long to get any kind of reply, Keiichi wasn't sure if he really _wanted_ to know what was going on. Although given who they were dealing with, it was safe to assume that once someone saw past Aoshima's facade as a so called gentleman, then their response would be nothing less than disgust. It was one thing to despise someone for showing off their wealth and being popular because of it, and a totally different thing to hate them for how poorly they treated others. "By all means. Just don't overdo it, or we might end up getting into trouble because of him."

"Are you freaking kidding me?! My eldest sister got into trouble all the time for… for totally stupid reasons back home, and this kind of person is allowed to roam around free here? Don't you have a legal system or something?" demanded the incredulous Skuld, her voice becoming louder as she went on.

Keiichi knew little of the eldest Norn, given that Skuld's information about her was extremely limited, yet he doubted that she would've been anything like Aoshima. Unfortunately though, Skuld's expectations were mostly based around the values of a vastly different society, and as such, had little to no meaning here. "I know… That's how I feel sometimes, but here… having money is the easy way of getting around with whatever you fancy. Even though in theory we're all equal before the law, in practice… some people have it easier than others. And then, there are people like him who systematically abuse his influence to such a degree that's bound to be illegal. Although as you can tell he-"

Noticing that the goddess was no longer paying attention to him, and instead fiddling with her top, Keiichi was starting to get a really bad feeling about this. Normally he would've turned red at the sight of a woman searching into her tank top, but this time he already knew that this was a goddess, and that's where she apparently hid all sorts of dangerous and potentially deadly things that should've been left alone, never to see the daylight. "Uh… what are doing?"

"I told you, already! _I'm gonna wreck his day,_ " said Skuld, putting even more force behind her words, as she shoved her arm up to her elbow into her cleavage cutout, despite the physical impossibility of her hand not coming out of the other end of her tank top.

"Look, I know that he's an ass and all that, but let's not blow the whole city to bits, okay?" tried Keiichi, after recalling the whole 'Non Nuclear Bomb' of hers.

"Oh, come on! I'm not that dense, Keiichi!" said Skuld with a snort. "I won't blow anything up, I just… want him to have a few words with Bren-kun, that's all!"

Struggling to recall her mentioning of any boyfriend by the name Bren -or even an acquaintance of hers- but failing to come up with anything, Keiichi was about to ask what a guy was going in her cleavage. Well… not worded like that, but that was indeed his biggest question at the moment, unless of course it was something as mundane as her looking for her cellphone. However, what came out of Skuld's secret stash… was anything but mundane. "What the hell?!"

"Say hello to my _Bren-kun_ , Keiichi!" A gun's stock came out, slowly followed by the rest of the firearm, as Skuld managed to navigate it through her top's opening, much to how impossible of a sight that was. Even more, the Norn hefted it in a single arm, as it it was weightless, while looking for something else in her top. "Hm… now… where's my Bren-kun's magazine? I think I had one somewhere around… Aha! Found it!"

" _S-S-Skuld! That's a machine gun!_ " screamed Keiichi, struggling to keep his cool and not cause an accident.

"Actually, it's a light machine gun, and to be more precise, it an L4 mk III Bren gun. Which is why I call him, Bren-kun… for ease of reference," announced the proud owner of the aforementioned firearm as she slapped the thirty round magazine on its top.

"That's not the point! Look, I know that he probably deserves it, but if we can't just… kill him!" said Keiichi as he watched the goddess take aim with the gun's iron sights and remove the safety as she locked and loaded. "No matter the circumstances, it's not permitted by our laws to take matters on our own hands!"

There was a moment of hesitation as Skuld's finger brushed the trigger while she had the back of mortal's seat in her sights. "Fine… I guess, I'll listen to you; this time. Only because oneesama... I mean… Belldandy wouldn't want me to do this."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Keiichi almost began to relax, until he felt a shift next to him, and much to his horror, Skuld was still aiming at the back of the Ferrari; instead of directly at Aoshima. There wasn't even enough time for him to dissuade her, and attempting to swerving out of the way was extremely risky; not with Skuld holding a light machine gun that was live and ready to fire. At least Aoshima deserved it, unlike the innocent motorists and bystanders that could get hit in his place, should the Norn miss her target.

 _And then came the shot_.

Or rather a quick succession of three short bursts, all aimed at the Ferrari's engine block, and thanks to the fact that half of the rounds were armor piercing, it didn't take long to take it out of commission. Yet at the speed the car was already going, coupled by the sheer terror the goddess' action inflicted upon the now screaming driver, the car veered off course and hit a lamp post head on, causing the airbags to deploy.

" _We need to go! Now!_ " Not even wasting any time to check whether Aoshima was still alive or not, Keiichi sped away from the site of the incident, ignoring years worth of lessons to help fellow motorists in these kind of situations. Of course this was no accident, and while a part of him wanted to scream at Skuld for pulling such a stunt, another part, buried deep within his psyche… rejoiced.

Glancing at the rear mirror, Keiichi barely caught a glimpse of some movement from within the car, meaning that at the very least, Aoshima wasn't instantly killed by either a stray bullet or the impact itself. But that had to wait for later on; right now he had to put as much distance between themselves and most likely the cops that were bound to come and investigate the shooting. " _At least hide that thing, Skuld! We're already in deep trouble! You don't need to make people panic even more!_ "

"Sure, sure… one moment!" said the Norn as she did her best to make it safe again, before she attempted to stash it back in her bosom, only to realize a rather pesky side effect from touching a gun's barrel after it fired several shots.

" _Aiie! Hot! Hot! HOT!_ "

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

Considering the ineptitude of Belldandy's guard, I thought that it was necessary to make a mention as to why that was the case. That and the fact that they now assigned the Intelligence Sector to monitor them, although that by itself can allow other possibilities, too.

Peorth's tendency to make huge misunderstandings is something I'm heavily referencing here, although I hope it's been done in a much more natural manner, rather than depict her like an airhead, as she could've been seen as such during her intro arc in the manga (not so much later on in the series though).

And no, Aoshima's not dead. Not yet, the guy's sturdier than a cockroach. However, the whole attack isn't something done for comedic purposes, but will become an important incident for later chapters. Actually, there will be one immediately noticeable change from the next chapter already.


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

' _Details of this horrific incident are still coming in, as miss Mishima has yet to make a public statement about the condition of her cousin and Vice President of Mishima Records. Aoshima Toshiyuki was admitted to the local hospital after being ruthlessly assaulted almost three hours ago, while driving across Nekomi's streets. According to eyewitnesses the perpetrators were riding a BMW motorbike with a sidecar that they used to track the businessman down, and then fired at him with a light machine gun. The police are astounded by the use of such a military grade weapon, which according to their spokesperson doesn't conform to typical Yakuza tactics. Furthermore, local students of NIT have identified the driver of the motorbike, and while the police are yet to publically announce his name, we've been reassured that they're conducting an investigation on the man and all necessary steps are being taken to locate his whereabouts. Meanwhile, Mr Aoshima is currently undergoing surgery to recover from a bullet wound on his right arm, which according to the medical staff had almost torn his right elbow. Still, early signs are encouraging and recovery seems a possibility. Join us after the break to learn more about the details behind this shocking incident._ '

Turning off the holo screen, Tyr remained silent for several long seconds, letting all that information sink in. He knew that it was a bad idea to leave Skuld unsupervised, and while his wife was initially supportive of his decision to assign an actual Valkyrie on this particular mission, Ansuz eventually caved in under their daughter's insistence and as a result… so did he.

Which was starting to look like a disaster scenario already, as Keiichi was now a wanted man, all thanks to the youngest Norn's impulsive actions. 'Perhaps I should've scolded her for that incident with the bomb. At least that would've stopped her from going this far, and without even taking the necessary steps to cover her tracks. Then again… she _is_ a child, no matter how smart she is.' Turning to his wife, who stood next to him, Tyr couldn't quite say that she was anywhere as annoyed as he was with this unexpected development. If nothing else, there was a hint of pride in her eyes, and while he would've normally shared the sentiment, under the current circumstances it was really hard for him to do so. "You know, Ansuz… She may look like me, but that girl definitely takes after you."

"In all honesty, I think that our Skuld is slowly shaping into a totally different person than either of us, dear. She may be pretty aggressive and impulsive right now, but this is far from from a permanent state. In the long run she will shape into into goddess that might surpass us in both power and even maturity. Which is what I'm really proud of, since she's more than likely to follow our footsteps than the rest of our daughters," said Ansuz without even trying to hide her smile. "However… with that being said, I think that I might need to pay her a visit as soon as I'm allowed to. Just to knock some sense into that girl's head, before she screws things up for everyone."

"You do that. I have one of those all nighters again," said Tyr with a heavy sigh, rubbing his temples. "At least we're slowly making some progress at how to revert them back, although… I'm not sure."

"About what, dear?"

"Considering that we're getting pretty close, there are some voices who want us to get Belldandy and Peorth out of there as soon as possible. Even as soon as… _right now_."

The goddess remained quiet, knowing all too well of the implications behind such a decision. It wasn't that she didn't want her daughter back, but without having a way to get to Urd and Lind, that course of action could put them in unnecessary danger. And even if the demons didn't change the way they treated them in response to losing their so called trump cards, the possibility of Urd thinking that she was abandoned due to her origins, was far too great to consider. "No, I don't think that Belldandy would appreciate it. Not without getting her sister and Lind out of there, too."

"I thought so as well, but I wanted to make sure that you approve." There was a hint of uncertainty in the Daitenkaicho's voice, as he glanced at his wife who remained standing next to him.

"Because it's for the sake of that woman's daughter?" retorted Ansuz with a raised eyebrow, turning to stare at her husband. "You've probably picked the wrong time for such foolish jokes, Tyr. Cause if you actually believe that I think so poorly of Urd-chan… then I really hope you like our couch."

'Not a chance. Thank goodness I've picked that airbed from Nimbus Mall five decades ago. Best purchase ever.' Clearing his throat to recompose himself while trying to avoid the goddess' intense stare, and hopefully change the topic before he did end up having to use that mattress. "When are you planning to visit Skuld?"

"As soon as Belldandy makes a move," said Ansuz with a drawn out sigh. "Last thing I need right now is scare Keiichi any more, by dropping by for a visit. Dealing with Belldandy's sister is one thing, but her mother, too? I fear that this might deter him from going any further."

Nodding absently, Tyr had to admit that his wife had a had a point there. Keiichi must've been already overwhelmed by his own situation, as well as the unruly Norn of the future, to handle any more of Belldandy's relatives at the time being. "Agreed. Let's just hope she does hurry up, or I'll get down there first, and woe to any of those demons I might run into."

XXX

 _Earth_

In a moment's notice, his whole life turned upside down. That was the only thing in Keiichi's mind as he stared the ceiling of what in reality was essentially a shipping container that currently acted as a temporary hideout, until a much more permanent solution could be found. Located in one of the scrapyards he used to visit on a regular basis during his college years, in search of affordable parts for the Motor Club's projects, it was the best place to hide from the law, as no one would suspect to look into that rusted piece of junk for one of Nekomi's most wanted men.

Together with him, was his trusty Beemer that he barely managed to squeeze inside the container, without taking off the sidecar, and… the actual culprit of this whole fiasco. Keiichi was still unsure what to think of that goddess, and not just because of their first meeting. At least _that_ was somewhat funny, but… he really wished he could say the same about current situation as well.

'The cops are looking for me, I don't even have a cellphone to call Megumi and tell her that I'm okay, and… _I'm stuck with a brat!_ '

As if it wasn't already hard enough to accept that Skuld was goddess, he now had to cope with the fact that she didn't even seem to be as old as he initially thought; at least not when it came to her _physical_ appearance. Whether she was eighty or even eight hundred, Keiichi wouldn't care any less. With her looking like a thirteen year old brat, and him now being a wanted man, this was the last thing he needed to deal with. 'If they catch me with her, either they'll think I'm a kidnapper or a pedo! Most likely… both.'

"Ugh! Where's a power generator when you need one?" shouted Skuld in frustration, catching Keiichi's attention. She had little luck at coming up with an alternative power source for her Time Accelerator Mk III, at least one that wasn't too inconspicuous, as to reveal their position to the scrapyard owners. Most types of internal combustion engines produced too much noise, and renewable power solutions didn't work inside the confines of their temporary hideout.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but we've got bigger problems than finding a plug for your cellphone," came Keiichi's smug reply. In all honesty he knew that he sounded much more sarcastic and rude than normal, but then again, he had every reason in the world to be upset with Skuld. Thanks to her trigger happy attitude, the police are after him and he had no doubts that there was no way to offer them any kind of believable explanation that could shed a more positive light to his associate's actions. Far worse, the aforementioned goddess wasn't even a legal adult by mortal standards -all thanks to her physical appearance- meaning… that he was going to get the full blame, and if his hunch was right, that wouldn't be the only thing to get charged with once they saw the current Skuld.

"I want to charge my Time Accelerator Mk III, not a stupid phone!" shot Skuld back at him, struggling to keep her voice down. It's not like she wanted for him to get into this kind of trouble -at least not willingly- but in a moment of poor judgment she may have gone overboard, and… the rest was history. "Without power it cannot maintain my grown up appearance, and do something useful!"

"Like what? Get me killed? Because so far, you've been _some help!_ " Throwing his hands up in frustration, Keiichi feared that he was moments away from blowing his top off, and Skuld's attitude wasn't making anything easier for him either. "What were you thinking anyway? Shooting a guy in the middle of the day, and right in front of dozens of eyewitnesses? No matter how much of an asshole he is, that doesn't mean you can pull off such a stunt!"

"Well, _excuse me_ for trying to do something to protect my sister from a _total pervert_ that wants nothing more than get in her panties, whether she likes it or not! _Excuse me_ for not caring about your stupid laws, that allow such a person to roam freely in the first place. _Excuse me_ for trying to become an adult, so that I'm physically capable of _defending_ your sorry ass, should another octopus or who knows what other demonic critter might come after you, and eat your stupid face before you even know what hit you!"

Keiichi watched the goddess' angry tirade with an utterly shocked expression, as in his mind _he_ was the one who should've blown his lid, and not the other way around. "Now, hold on a second! My whole life is more or less ruined, and you want to scold me on top of that? What are you expecting? An apology? I may hate that moron as much as anyone who got to know him, but even I'm not stupid enough to pull a gun, let alone a _light machine gun_ in the middle of the damned city! And what do you think I can say if they catch me? That I'm on a mission from a thirteen year old goddess to save her sisters from the demons? You think anyone's going to buy that?"

" _I'm eight hundred! Not thirteen!_ "

"As if I care! _As if anyone cares!_ The police certainly won't!" shouted Keiichi as he got up from the container's floor and turned to glare at the pint sized terror who returned his intense gaze with one of her own.

"Your police won't care about demonic threats either! They'll either think that you're a prankster or just a loon! And if you keep acting like that, then even I won't care! Remember that your problems started before I arrived to save you, not after!" Heading for the container's door, Skuld paused for a moment to regain her composure, as she was far too angry for words to describe. This was nothing like any of the scenarios she had in mind, and none of her mother's training prepared her for how to deal with humans. Sure, she did realize that it was her fault that Keiichi got into trouble, and if he wasn't as angry with her, then she would've definitely offered the much needed apology. Yet if there was something to be told about the Norn of the future was her strong sense of pride that immediately made her challenge his accusations.

That had to wait though, as she was in no state of mind to resolve the crisis in a diplomatic manner. She wasn't even sure if doing such a thing was possible for her to begin with, as Skuld was far more comfortable dealing with machines than she was with people. The only exceptions of that rule were her sisters, who practically raised her from a young age, allowing Skuld to be extremely familiar with them. But that was far from the case with Keiichi. And to a certain degree, she was probably still unhappy why such an ordinary guy seemed to capture her oneesama's attention. Even though he was far from a bad person, that didn't immediately make him an ideal match from an extraordinary goddess like Belldandy was, and as such, Skuld had her doubts whether he truly deserved her or not.

However, the best course of action right now was to put some distance from him and give both of them the time to cool their heads, before things deteriorated even further. She wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen if that became a reality, as her mother never mentioned of a plan B, should her efforts proved to be ineffective, although the Norn suspected that they'd probably recall her and send someone more experienced in her place. Which not only would deny her a chance to meet Belldandy, but also end up in her permanent record as one of her biggest failures. "I'm going out to find some car batteries."

"It's unlikely that they'll be still charged," said Keiichi, barely above a whisper. So many things were going on in his head right now, that he had trouble prioritizing them. One one hand, his entire life turned upside down, and going back to his otherwise boring lifestyle was all but impossible now, but on the other hand, even if Skuld didn't mess things up for him, there was always the chance that the demons would've done that for him anyway. Living the rest of his life in fear that someone might come after him was even worse than just running away from the law. Not that he was comfortable with that either, but at the very least he wasn't dealing with who knows what kind of otherworldly creature they might send after him.

"I know that. I'll have to recharge them directly from me. But at the very least, they should be far less sensitive to power fluctuations than my device would be, if I were to try and recharge it with an electric spell. The last thing I need is to fry my Time Accelerator and end up having to go back home to find some of the necessary components to fabricate spare parts for it," explained Skuld, and then simply turned around and left.

Having nothing else to do, Keiichi stared at the container's door and wondered how could things turn like this so suddenly. More than anything else though, the main question was what to do from now on. Sooner or later he needed to eat, as well as find a place he could live, as a container was hardly a suitable housing for him. Which not only meant that he had to find the money to support himself without going to work, but also keep a low profile until the whole matter was hopefully forgotten; something that could probably take months, if not years.

'This is a nightmare… I don't want to go to jail, and for Aoshima's sake too! But… what am I going to do now? I can't just go back to Megumi's place, and there's no way I can show up to my part time jobs either.'

With a heavy sigh, Keiichi reached for his wallet and checked its contents, which… caused his mood to deteriorate even further. Inside of it was just over a thousand Yen; hardly enough to do anything with them. He had yet to receive this month's paycheck from his jobs, and as such, he was ill prepared for having to support himself for an extended period of time. Without any obvious solution to his predicament, Keiichi decided to get some fresh air, as a walk around the scrapyard might help him come up with something productive, rather than just sit here and wallow over his fate.

'Wish I could go for a ride, but… the only thing I'll manage is to get myself caught. Besides, it's better to preserve the Beemer's gas, should I need it later on.'

XXX

Walking across the street, the disguised demoness knew that she should've followed Peorth's advice to the letter, but now it was far too late for regrets. Unlike her roommate's recommendation, Belldandy's choice of a disguise caused her to stick out from the faceless crowd like a sore thumb. After all, going for a punk look, complete with leather pants and jacket, as well as teal hair that she made appear as if they've been poorly dyed was just enough to make her unrecognizable. Still, she still attracted far too much attention to her liking, which could easily turn into a problem, considering just who she was attempting to find.

If there was anything interesting to note, was that her choice of hair color almost made her look like her mother. 'Should I take a selfie with me like this? Perhaps I can sent it over to her with the next set of replies?' No matter how much of a silly thought that was, Belldandy paused and brought out the phone she bought when she first arrived to the mortal realm and took a photo of herself. 'Ugh… why won't those strands stay down? I've spent an hour trying to flatten those stupid things!'

Struggling to push her antennae hair -as Peorth like to refer those unruly strands- back into place, Belldandy noticed a shadow right across the street. 'A demon! Did they find out that I'm missing?' Looking around her, just to make sure that she wasn't surrounded, the Norn prepared to run away, when she realized that they weren't paying any attention to her. Instead, they kept walking, with their jacket's hood covering their face, making it hard for her to tell if that was one of the demons stationed here with her or someone else entirely. And more interestingly, the demon entered an antique shop across the street.

'I really want to find out what's going on here, but… I don't think it's smart to get too close. Better keep going and put as much distance between myself and whoever that demon is.'

Turning around, Belldandy broke into a brisk walk, only pausing for a moment to watch the demon exit the store, carrying a small package on their hands.

XXX

 _Low Levels, Niflheim_

It wasn't even close to call it a day, yet Urd could feel her whole body ache in ways that she never thought possible. Not wanting to pick favorites, she had agreed to train under both Lind and Fehu at the same time, each of them using a dramatically different approach from the other. The former focused primarily on physical and even combat skills, while the latter on precision and magic, which as a whole provided Urd a much more complete solution on how to wrangle both her natures.

Still, it was more than obvious that such an intense training was hardly suitable for a civilian, no matter how powerful she was. If it wasn't for physical or magical fatigue, then the sheer mental exhaustion sapped her of the energy to do anything other than keep the place running, leaving her with virtually no free time. Training or no training, she still micromanaged everything in the casino, making sure that both the customers and the employees were happy, and the sales were doing great too.

Yet as insignificant of a job that was, this whole experience allowed Urd to get a rare insight of her parents' lifestyle. Working hard from sunrise to sunset, with little to no time for themselves didn't just sound like a pain, but it definitely _was_ , and then some. As a goddess she never desired to spend nearly this amount of time for work, and while not lazy in the broader sense of the word, she was nothing like her parents or even her middle sister.

Back then she did what was expected of her and nothing much beyond that. Thanks to her ancestry, Urd really doubted that trying any harder would've earned her the recognition she deserved, so for the most part, she kept things rather simple. As the saying went, _nothing gained, nothing lost_. It was better for her not to try too hard and remain as a second class goddess, rather that overexert herself and yet see other celestials receive tons of praise, even though they did less than her; only because they lacked that one, black wing.

Even though she had always desired to become accepted in the celestial society as a goddess no different than anyone else, it was a childish dream that remained just that; a little fantasy. If it wasn't for her striking family resemblance to her mother, it was definitely her personality that clearly set her apart from most other goddesses, at least on a superficial level that is. Aside from her mischievousness, Urd had a sense of duty that was best displayed by the strong bond she formed with her sisters, a bond that was rare even amongst other celestial families, and without even considering the fact that she came from a different mother than her two younger siblings.

She could even vaguely remember how much she wanted an angel with pure, white wings, just to prove that she was a real goddess; just to be accepted. Only for her other self to turn out to be everything she feared to be, and the rest was history.

As a result, Urd adopted a much more laid back attitude, and kept primarily focused on taking care of her sisters from the sidelines. Not that she'd ever put her own happiness over theirs, but unlike Belldandy who remained close to her and Skuld, and yet gained a reputation for her excellent work ethics, Urd was hardly concerned at becoming a renowned administrator. Which in some ways turned out to be pretty ironic, given that no matter how laid back she was, Urd proved a rather efficient System administrator, especially when her technical skills were most needed. The mere fact that she kept her position for so long was a testament of her skills, regardless of her less than professional attitude.

The really unexpected part was that despite that she wanted to do nothing with the demons, Urd actually took pride in what she was doing here. It was a paradox that bugged her to no end, as in reality she wanted nothing more than get out of here, and go back to her old life, yet that annoying fact remained. Contrary to her previous job where she had to wrangle with a very inflexible protocol, on top of the never ending list of rules all celestials had to follow, here… she was free in her own prison.

Of course she often considered it as a well calculated decision on the demons' part, to offer her illusion that she had more freedom even under the current circumstances than she'd ever had back in Asgard. Which to a certain degree was technically correct, all except one important detail; being a goddess was a conscious decision on her part. She even took great pride of it, despite all the downsides it came with, and the only reason why she kept a certain distance from her own mother. A person that she actually continued to respect and love to this date, even in secret.

 _The deep, dark secret she kept ever from herself._

Not that it was necessary anymore, as Urd's current demonic nature wasn't concerned about being seduced by her kind; far from it really. If nothing else she was as annoyed as she sometimes felt when some of the celestials looked down at her goddess side, and the irony of it all wasn't lost on her. Both her halves seemed to possessed an almost idealized view of the other's societies and how approaching them would tip the delicate balance inside her mind. It was actually only thanks to both her natures' love towards her sister that allowed her some peace of mind, as she would've never settle in as goddess in the first place, not with her demonic side fearing to come to like her father for the very same reason her goddess sided did the same for their mother. Something that right now felt utterly stupid, since it was beginning to seem that for most of her life, Urd had been torturing herself over nothing at all.

Living with the demons, even if she was to be granted full freedom, was hardly the idealized her young and naive self had expected. To earn her place in this world, Urd needed to work hard. Far harder than she'd ever done in the past, or even cared to do at any given time, yet it was inevitable, and not just because of how competitive demonic society was, but also due to the identity of her mother. As the Daimakaicho's daughter, everyone had much higher expectations of her, and if it was stressful now, Urd didn't even wish to know how much worse it would've been, should she had never left her mother's side. The constant need to prove that her accomplishments had nothing to do with who her mother was, that she wasn't just some sort of demonic princess of sorts, would've been no easy task. It certainly would've been no easier than to live as a goddess with a tarnished reputation.

 _Asgard's goddess of destruction._

The Norn dropped the sales report back on her desk, feeling too distracted by her own thoughts to get any real work done today. After all, things were looking up for her business, yet the same couldn't be said about her personal life. She missed her sisters tremendously and learning that Skuld was now on Earth, almost made her wish to go and pull her into a hug; just to reassure her that demoness or not, she was still her big sister.

'Come to think of it, how did mother handle this? How did she ran her realms after dropping me over at Asgard, never to hear news from me? Or… the fact that I wasn't prohibited to talk to her; but that _I didn't want to…_ Had I actually explained her of my own fears at any point of time?' Try as she might, Urd couldn't remember when exactly was the last time she last talked to her mother, or even how old she was at the time. She did vaguely recall that she had more than once almost asked her when she was going to pick her up, but despite her young age, Urd knew that the answer was likely not one she could handle back then, and perhaps even now.

Getting up from her chair, Urd walked around her desk and towards the one way mirror window that allowed her to work in the privacy of her office, while still able to oversee the casino's foyer. While she normally spend most of her time interacting with customers and personally oversee her staff's activities, there were still moments when she felt the need to be alone with her thoughts. Which… in some cases could prove to be more of a curse than a blessing. And by the looks of it, this was going to be one of those days.

'Am I really turning into my mother? To be forced to deal with something beyond my control? Yet she always looked so strong, while I… I'm just here wasting my time humoring someone that should've been my subordinate, not the other way around.' She scoffed at the idea that she still had to obey to Hagall's orders, while she was the best candidate to take over her mother's position. Not out of some hereditary system, like it was often the case in the mortal realm, but because she was -according to some- the most promising demoness in terms of her future potential. Right now she may had some issues at utilizing her full power, but over time, Urd had no delusions that with sufficient effort she could eventually match her mother's power and skill, if not outright surpass her.

And that was the moment when Urd's eyes went wide from the shock of her own realization. 'Wait! Am I actually thinking of becoming the… _Daimakaicho?_ Me?...' At no point in her entire life did she ever consider taking over her mother's place as the leader of the demons. Sure, she felt in awe while in her mother's presence, but, even back then she never imagined herself in her mother's place. And not to mention right now, where her biggest priority should've been to find a way to get back in Asgard, together with Belldandy and the others.

Still, there was a certain limit on how much she could accomplish down here in the Low Levels. Even if she expanded her influence outside of her casino, Urd was doubtful that she could do anything that could be remotely described as productive. Which simply meant that she somehow had to reach outside of her current clientele. No matter how much demons appreciated the services her casino had to offer, it was far too slow of a method to develop some connections with the higher society. And with Skuld already on Earth, and Keiichi so deeply involved in this whole situation, Urd felt that they were running out of time.

In this case, rather than working slowly from the ground up, it was likely better to go straight for those who had the influence she needed to accomplish her goals. Which may eventually require her to sit on her mother's throne. At least for as long as it's absolutely necessary to fix this mess and then release her mother, who would immediately succeed her.

'Let's ask Fehu, and see who's my best ticket out of here. She should know a lot more about demonic politics than anyone else here."

XXX

 _Earth_

Cursing under her breath as her efforts to remove this stubborn battery proved to be far from effective, Skuld felt tempted to throw in a bomb into the car's engine bay, if not for the satisfaction of blowing this piece of junk into bits. Yet patience was a virtue she had to master if she wanted to succeed in her mission, and as such Skuld took a deep breath and let go her pliers. 'Alright… let's try a different approach. Maybe I should simply cut all the way around the battery and see where it's still connected. Then I can-'

The goddess came to an abrupt stop when the unmistakable signature of demonic energy assaulted her senses. It came literally out of nowhere, since she never felt anything prior to this moment, making Skuld even more worried than normal. This wasn't consistent with an unsuspecting demon who was merely walking by, but more of a case of an ambush, where someone suppressed their energy signature until the very last moment.

Turning around, Skuld prepared to make a dash for the container where she left Keiichi and get him out of here, whether he liked it or not. Only for her to slam right onto someone, and as soon as managed to get her bearings, Skuld's eyes went wide in shock. This person was the demon, or rather demoness she had felt earlier, and without the ability to change into her adult form, she was in a serious disadvantage.

"Skuld."

' _That voice! She's…_ ' The young goddess didn't dare finish that thought, fearing that she wasn't mentally ready to face her. She was actually shaking like a leaf, as she fought back years worth of tears from ruining the long awaited reunion with her sister, but it was proving more difficult than anticipated. Worse yet, Skuld wasn't entirely sure that this was her sister to begin with, since the energy signature was obviously wrong and she worried that looking up to see her face would only prove that this was some impersonator who did her homework and found the little Norn's weakness.

Arms wrapped around the shaking goddess and helped her on her feet, as the demoness pulled herself off the ground where they ended up after that collision. She originally intended to meet Keiichi first, but in the end decided against it. After not seeing her for over two long years, Belldandy actually missed her little sister dearly, and couldn't bring herself to ignore her while she was within easy reach. "It's alright… I'm here. Everything's going to be alright, Skuld..."

Two and a half years had taken their toll on the young goddess, so, despite her best efforts Skuld broke down into tears. She honestly didn't wish to make her sister worry about her, and even carefully planned every single word she was going to say during this very moment, only to end up bawling her eyes out in her sister's bosom.

A long time ago, all the middle Norn would've done was to offer words of comfort to her distressed sister, but the current Belldandy seethed in silent rage. She desperately wanted to hurt someone, and feared that her bloodlust that kept building up inside her would get to the point where she'd lose control of it. And if it was problematic whenever it happened when she was a goddess, the consequences of her current self experiencing an involuntary energy release would be simply unfathomable. So, all she ended up doing -the only thing she could afford of doing- was to stroke her sister's hair, her eyes fixed in the distance as to minimize the risk of losing her cool if she were to see Skuld's tears. 'Just stop… please. I… I can't stand it anymore.'

Taking a deep breath to regain her composure, Belldandy decided to try singing one of the celestial arias she was so famous for in Asgard, and probably one Skuld's favorite too. And while it didn't quite feel the same without having Holy Bell to accompany her, it was still much better than the cheesy and shallow songs she used to sing these days. Better yet, it appeared to be just what she needed to calm her sister down, who had finally stopped crying and even joined in by humming Belldandy's song.

However what happened next caught the demoness by surprise, as a pair of wings shot out of her sister's back, and soon a blond angel with striking red eyes was floating behind the younger Norn. And considering that Skuld never had an angel before, it simply meant that this was a fairly new development. "A… an angel? You've got an angel? That's wonderful!"

"Ah, yes… I've got her egg roughly a year ago, and I've even managed to summon her on the first try!" said Skuld, regaining her composure, as she wiped the tears off her eyes. Until… her angel's warnings that something was off caught her attention, causing her to look up and then… take a step back in shock. " _Whoa!_ What happened to your hair?"

"Since everyone would instantly recognize me, I decided to dye them as part of my disguise," said Belldandy as she reached with her hands and tossed her hair over her shoulders. "So… what do you think, Skuld?"

"You look like… mom?" replied the incredulous Norn of the future, while her angel circled around the teal haired demoness and cautiously poked her to make sure that she wasn't some apparition.

"I know! I'll even send her a photo as soon as I can. But enough about my silly getup." Turning to face her sister's angel, she inspected the winged being, and no matter how nostalgic it felt to look at an angel, Belldandy managed to smile at her. "I'm sorry that your sister isn't here to properly welcome you, but… I'm pleased to meet you. What's your name, dear?"

'Uh… N-Noble Scarlet. It's an honor to finally meet you, oneesama.' The angel offered the elder Norn a deep bow, folding her wings around her chest as she did so.

"My, my! How polite," said Belldandy as her smile became even wider. "It's almost surprising to see such a well mannered and gentle girl, born out of a such a… _violent_ soul."

The more than obvious barb made both of them to wince considerably, as it became apparent that despite their long awaited reunion, Belldandy wasn't going to overlook what took place a few hours ago. And with the latter being a demoness, Skuld had no idea how much scarier her sister could get now that she was… peeved. Sure, Belldandy was normally the sweetest goddess Skuld knew, but, that didn't mean that she couldn't get pretty scary, albeit in a very different fashion than most others. Instead of becoming angry and start throwing insults, she would make it absolutely clear that she's disappointed with the way someone acted, and coupled with her persuasion skills, she could make almost anyone feel ashamed for themselves.

"I… about earlier… I…"

"You fucked up?" suggested the demoness, causing Skuld's mouth to hang open in utter shock at her sister's choice of word. "What?... That's pretty much what summarizes the situation, Skuld. Sure, I could try to sugar coat everything, but… ask yourself this: Do you want to be treated as an adult or not? Because being a grownup isn't all about privileges, Skuld. It's also about obligations too, as well as the need to confront the consequences of our actions."

Despite the uncharacteristic choice of words on Belldandy's part, or even how blunt she suddenly appeared to be, it was clear as day that demoness or not, her sister was trying to advise her, rather than just playing the blame game. 'She's right… I'm running away from it. All I did before was shout at Keiichi, but I never really apologized for the mess I've made.' Looking down, Skuld let out a heavy sigh and felt her shoulder slumped from all the stress she was going through in the last couple of hours. If she could've gone back in time, she would've done a lot of things differently.

But even as a goddess of time, such a thing was impossible for her, and the only option available was to somehow fix the mess she made for herself. "I'm sorry, oneesama. I wanted to help… I tried to help, but all I've done so far was to fuck up Keiichi's life."

"Okay, first of all, please don't refer to… terminology I'm borrowing from the… demonic training manual," said Belldandy, as soon as she heard her sister's reply. "As a goddess you're not supposed to-"

"Drop F-bombs? Come on, I know that goddesses say things like that! Mom definitely says things like that… and worse," said Skuld with a roll of her eyes, feeling that her sister suddenly felt the need to revert back to her old habits and make sure that she wasn't picking up bad language. Which would've been funny, if it wasn't for the current circumstances, or even the realization that Belldandy was actually lying, since there was no such thing as demonic training manual. "That's not the point here, oneesama! I wanted to do something to help and… ruined everything, instead! What am I supposed to do now?"

"Keep him safe, Skuld. Sooner or later, I fear that someone will come after him, and either hurt him or even resort at using him as a hostage to make me more… cooperative. Whatever the case may be, I want him to stay well, although the same is true for you too," said Belldandy as she placed her hands on her sister's shoulders. "Are you sure you're ready for such a task, Skuld? As much as I appreciate your efforts, I don't wish you to end up getting harmed in the process. You are my little sister, and… Urd would've never allowed such a thing either."

Offering her an acknowledging nod, Skuld took a moment to evaluate her situation and then decided that it was for the best to come clean with her sister. "Belldandy… I don't have the slightest clue what I'm doing here. I wanted to prove useful and now… a man is a wanted criminal thanks to me. I think you pretty much summed it up already. I fucked up."

"Skuld, I said that you shouldn't be using such-"

"That's not the problem! I don't need you to tell me what I'm supposed to say! What I really need is to tell me how I can fix this mess! Anything that doesn't involve me going back! I… can't! Not like this…"

Her sister's outburst caught Belldandy off guard, as she had never seen Skuld so determined before. Granted, she always tried her best to prove herself, but whenever things turned out badly and her sister's didn't immediately jumped to help her, Skuld was prone of giving up. Or at the very least react in a very explosive manner; which in most cases resulted in the opposite of… fixing anything. Yet that didn't seem to be case here, and even the way her sister looked at her, appeared to be more mature that what she remembered. "There's no easy way to fix this situation, Skuld. And no amount of apologies will ever make up for the inconvenience you've caused to him. However… instead of offering him words, how about you work your way to give him a semblance of normalcy? Right now, Keiichi needs a place to live and the means to means to provide for himself. So, that's the first things you need to cover, before you even get to the point of seeking forgiveness. If you do a good job though, I have little doubt that he'll be more than happy to put all this behind him."

Scratching her chin, Skuld knew that her sister did have a point. She just couldn't keep Keiichi hidden in a container forever, so, another course of action was needed. And considering where they happened to be, the Norn of the future did have an idea as to how she could resolve that issue. "Okay… I think I got it. Can you do me a favor though? Just… go and talk to him. I need a few hours to set up what I've got in mind, and I don't want him to keep worrying about everything. Or even start wandering too far and someone sees him and call the cops."

"Yes, I'll do just that," said Belldandy with a nod. Despite the inevitable urge to ask for more details as to sister's plans, Belldandy knew that it was probably for the best to show some level of trust in Skuld's troubleshooting abilities, especially now that she was thinking with a clear head. "In that case…"

"Stop worrying about me, and just go," said Skuld as she turned around and resumed tugging onto the car battery she was trying to extract minutes ago. "I'm a big girl now, so, I can handle being by myself."

Smiling at her sister, Belldandy turned and headed for the direction she thought Keiichi was. Only to pause for a moment and revert her hair to their original rich chestnut color, trying to minimize the chances giving Keiichi an unnecessary surprise. He was going through a lot as of late, and what desperately needed was some semblance of normalcy.

'Alright… Let's hope this doesn't end up like last time.'

XXX

Walking along the stacks of old vehicles of all kinds, Keiichi focused on identifying the models, as well as their introduction date, along with some of their most prominent features. It seemed like a totally pointless thing to do at the moment, but it did actually help him keep his mind off his troubles, and hopefully once he calmed down enough, he could come up with some sort of plan. 'Keep your cool Morisato… you've gone through tough times in the past.'

Coming to a stop, Keiichi let out a heavy sigh, knowing that despite his efforts to cheer himself up, this new, grim situation was unlike any of his past hardships. At least back then, the main source of his problems was sheer lack of money, while now… he was dealing with the law. Even worse, he was also against forces far beyond his comprehension, and no matter how much he wanted to get away from it all, it was unlikely that he would be left alone by whatever horrors coming after him. And the only person who was probably capable of helping him was the very same who got him into this trouble as well.

Simply put… running away from Skuld would only leave him totally defenseless against the demons.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that Keiichi failed to hear the soft footsteps coming from behind him. So, when he felt a hand on his shoulder, the poor mortal nearly screamed in terror as he took several steps away from his unknown assailant, before finally turning to take a look at who -or even what- was after him. " _B-Belldandy?_ "

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you like that!" said the wide eyed brunette, as she tried to regain her composure. In retrospect, her idea of surprising Keiichi didn't turn out the way she had anticipated. Or rather, instead of the pleasant surprise she was going for, Belldandy ended up giving him a scare. Whatever the case might be, she and her long time crush ended up staring at each other, both waiting for some kind of response, and yet the stalemate lasted for a whole minute before she decided to try again. "I… I've managed to slip by my… _company's security staff_ and I thought I should see how you're doing."

"If you mean your guards… then it's alright, I know what's going on," said Keiichi with a grimace when he noticed Belldandy's slight flinch. He honestly didn't wish to sound that blunt, but for the love of his life, Keiichi wasn't in a proper state of mind to handle such a conversation. Yet, he couldn't quite tell her to go back and try talking to him another day, which meant that the mortal had to do his best and get his act together. "Skuld… I mean, your sister actually told me about the basics of what's going on here. So, there's no need to worry about saying anything that I shouldn't know."

Offering him a stiff nod, as the mention of her sister made her quite nervous, knowing that it could become a point of friction between them, Belldandy tried to veer the subject away from her younger sibling and towards them. "In that case I feel that I owe you an apology. Back at the party, I had no other option but to lie about a lot of things, just to keep you from finding out about my real identity and nature. I know that it's wrong, and I didn't want to mislead you, but… I just couldn't tell you the truth. You'd probably think that I was batshit insane."

"Heh… can't really blame you for that," said Keiichi with a snort. "In the last twenty four hours I've experienced enough that the word _insane_ lost it's meaning on me. Although, I'm kind of curious… how did you know my name? I'm pretty sure that the whole story about being my fan was an excuse, so… what gives?"

"Did Skuld explain you about the wish granting business that both Heavens and Hell use?" asked Belldandy, just to be on the safe side.

"Oh, yeah… she did actually tell about a few things," said Keiichi with a nod. "Both your realms are offering wishes or contracts to us humans, and there seems to be an intense competition for the market share."

"That's indeed correct, Keiichi-san. I was one of Asgard's top wish granters, working for the Goddess Relief Office. It was during that time that I was assigned to your case, when the System picked you as a candidate for a wish, and I had to make sure that you met the necessary requirements. While the candidate selection process is fully automated, we still have to verify that a potential client is truly worthy of Heaven's grace, or it's just a fluke in the System; at which point we can dismiss the client's application. However, to those that do pass the examination, the wish granter assigned to their case is permitted to contact them and eventually offer them the chance of getting one of their wishes come true," explained Belldandy in the most laconic way she could muster. There were still a lot of details she could've gotten into, but for the most part, she had covered the most important things that Keiichi needed to know.

"Okay… that probably explains why you know me." Scratching his head, Keiichi had to admit that the idea of being Heaven's ' _chosen_ ' sounded pretty ironic, given his current predicament. Still, there was something off about the former goddess' explanation. While he always doubted that she was an actual fan, back from his racing days, that idea sounded a lot more appealing to him, rather than being a mere… client whose profile she had to review. 'Yeah… keep thinking that, Morisato. As if a hot babe would ever become your fan… She was just doing her job, dammit! I'm such a sucker...'

Noticing his shoulders slump, Belldandy thought that he was lamenting about his lost chance at a wish, so she decided to reassure the poor guy. "Please don't worry about it, Keiichi-san. You should be still eligible for a wish, and you can definitely use that to even get yourself out of your predicament."

That was probably the most uplifting thing he heard during the last couple of hours. At least he still had a way out of this mess, should those guys over at Asgard decide to finally offer him that wish. However, being… himself, Keiichi wondered if he could help her with his wish, but eventually realized that if it was that simple, then someone in her homeland would've already done that. So, in the end all he did was express the disappointment he felt from knowing that he was nothing more than a client profile for her. "No, I just… well for a while I actually thought that you've watched some of those races. But that's pretty silly, right? I mean… why would a goddess watch something like that? Let alone, _me?_ "

" _You're wrong!_ " said Belldandy, her eyes burning with sheer determination, as she reached to grab his hands. "I _did_ watch your races, Keiichi-san! All of them! I may had to lie about my background, but I did tell the truth when I said that I was your fan! I… I even cheered for you, as I watched them in real time from my terminal."

"You watched them? Funny, but I cannot recall any of those events being broadcasted live on TV. I mean… that's typically reserved for big events, and especially those meant for professional teams, rather than total amateurs like us. We were pretty lucky when we made it to the local newspapers, and even then it was just a tiny article," said Keiichi with some confusion, trying to understand what Belldandy was talking about. Until… he realized that this was an immortal he was dealing with, and that quite possibly meant one thing. "Wait... Can you actually monitor our lives directly from your agency's terminals? Like… reality TV?"

It was at this point when Belldandy started to realize the magnitude of her blunder, as centuries of telling the truth caught up to her and inadvertently led her to blurt her darkest secret. Something that she actually never told her sisters about, even though she always suspected that Urd might've found out on her own, thanks to the hybrid's former position as one of Yggdrasil's administrators. But now that the cat was out of the bag, she had no other option but face the consequences of her actions; no matter how terrible those might be. "I… I did, but… it was necessary! I had to… to make sure that you were worthy of a wish, and I couldn't just show up and meet you in person. Only if you passed the basic requirements and there were no irregularities with your profile… only then I could attempt to contact you. You see, as goddesses we can't just grant wishes to absolutely everyone who might seem to meet the requirements. We must make sure that they're not hypocrites or… people who use a pleasant facade to charm others, while in reality they were rotten to their very core."

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, after being told that for a while he was part of some weird case of celestial… reality TV show, Keiichi was adamant not to blow his top off. No matter how much he wanted to vent his frustrations, Keiichi had to remind himself that Belldandy was in a far less favorable situation than him, and for much longer too. His ordeal only started a couple of hours ago, while she had to deal with being a prisoner for a couple of years. And that was something that most certainly affected those close to her, too. Blaming Skuld for his predicament was the easiest thing to do, yet if Megumi was in Belldandy's situation, then he had no doubt that would be as angry as the young goddess was at the moment.

Figuring that he still owned her a reply, Keiichi pulled his act together and tried not to make a fool of himself in front of the former goddess, let alone say something he'd definitely come to regret later. "I suppose you've got a point. There are all kinds of weirdos out there, and giving them whatever they wanted… sounds a pretty bad idea to me. So, I can't exactly blame you for… watching me, just to be on the safe side."

"No, that's not quite correct, Keiichi-san. It's probably quite convenient to let you assume that I was only doing my job, and that every other wish granter would've done the same, but… you deserve to know." Despite how much she wanted to sound calm, Belldandy was quite terrified at the prospect of telling him of her misdeeds. Under any other circumstances she'd rather wait for a while to let him get to know her much better before even bringing this subject up, but she had no idea when their next meeting would take place. And no matter how hard it was, Belldandy wanted to get this off her chest, rather than try to play dumb, just to make a good impression by offering nothing less than the truth. "For the last couple of years I've been… spying on you. It was something beyond my job's requirements, the role I had as a goddess, and even my very upbringing, but in the end… I kept doing it. And for that, I truly owe you an apology."

That unexpected confession caught Keiichi off guard, since he had no idea what to do or even say in a situation like this. After all, being told that someone was essentially… stalking him was one thing, but to hear it from the very perpetrator was even more unsettling. Granted, he had to give Belldandy some credit for mustering the courage to admit her guilt, and not to mention the fact that she condemned her own actions, yet he had no response for such a thing. It was becoming apparent that this Belldandy character might had a crush on him, or at the very least developed some form of fascination after watching his life for years.

To anyone else, this would've been their ultimate fantasy: a gorgeous beauty, who also happened to be a literal goddess, had somehow developed feelings for them. Which would only require the minimal amount of effort to return those feelings, and then all of a sudden the romantically inclined as Keiichi could turn from zero to hero. But as much of a great opportunity this seemed to be, the dark haired mortal just couldn't ignore the awkwardness of dealing with someone who probably knew a bit too much about him, all while he only met her once. And if that wasn't enough, Keiichi wasn't even dealing with Belldandy's real self, but a potentially warped, demonic persona of middle Norn. No matter how many of her original personality aspects were retained in her current self, Keiichi had no way of telling the difference, as he never actually met her prior to her… conversion.

However, more than anything else, Keiichi worried that either way he just wouldn't manage to go through this entire situation unscathed. It's been less than a full day after they first met, and Keiichi's life turned upside down, and he had no way of telling if he could endure the hardships of trying to tag along Skuld's mission to rescue the captured goddesses. But, if an immortal like Belldandy went ahead and admitted her guilt to him, then the least Keiichi could do was to offer an honest reply.

"I must admit that I'm at a loss here. I don't know whether to feel flattered that you found me interesting enough to watch, or… kind of creeped out. Now, don't get me wrong… I did get the part that it was part of your job to watch me in the first place, but… you… well..."

"I went overboard? Because if that's what you want to say, then I'll have to admit that you're quite correct," said Belldandy with a heavy sigh. "It's not even that I didn't know it the wrong thing to do, but once I offered you the wish and your profile was removed from my waiting list, I… I had no idea _when_ or even… _if_ I ever got to see you again. I never met any of my former clients after I granted their wishes, and it was unlikely that you'd be the exception of that rule, Keiichi-san."

The mortal offered a slow nod, as he honestly hadn't expected the rather noticeable tone of remorse in the demoness' voice. That sounded like the real deal, instead of an excuse to encourage him to forgive her. And for the most part, Keiichi seemed ready to do just that, although there was still one thing he just had to ask. "I see… If that's the case, I suppose that couldn't be avoided. Still… why me? Not to sound like a pessimist, but I'm hardly anyone special and as you've mentioned, the others must've met some strict criteria too. So, what's so different about the that caught your attention?"

"That's actually something I can't quite explain either. You'd think it's easy to explain why you like someone, but in reality it's anything but. The simplest way to phrase it is that you have some good qualities that I found pretty important, and yet those around you don't seem to appreciate. Which leaves you with the idea that you're a plain and possibly boring person." As she went along with her explanation, Belldandy's eyes filled with determination that became even more obvious when her slits turned into those of a cat's. "I probably know know how this world works a lot better now than I used to in the past. Humans often delude themselves into thinking that it's all about looks, fame and money. That once you've got any of them in sufficient quantity, then you're automatically sought after as _hot stuff_ , regardless of your actual personality. That everyone's going to overlook each and every other flaws you may have, because it seems that nothing else matters in the word."

Coming to a halt, Belldandy took a moment to recollect her thoughts as she almost brushed a subject she'd rather not discuss at the time being. Truth to be told, she now possessed a much less positive view of mankind, being exposed to people who were nothing like her former clients, who were after all selected by the System for a wish. Which unfortunately had little to do with her current demonic nature, but the sheer naivety she possessed as a goddess. "You know, Keiichi-san… back then I used to be attracted by your good qualities. Don't misunderstand me, but that's not the case anymore. What I came to realize is that many people start with a strong set of values, but in the end they decide to stop fighting the current and just do whatever seems popular these days; regardless of whether it's compatible with their ideals or not. What I really value about you right now, is that not only you've got some good qualities, but so far refused to make any compromises."

"I… I…" stammered Keiichi, unable to actually articulate anything intelligible. Nobody ever praised him like that; not even after winning all those races for the Motor Club, or spending his entire allowance to cover the expenses for their next big project. And yet here was a being far beyond his comprehension, who actually thought so highly of him that almost brought him to tears. Although it wasn't due to Belldandy's moving words, but primarily by his own guilt. "I'm flattered… I really am. But, I don't deserve such praise. So far in my life I thought that I've been through some hard times, yet nothing prepared me for this. And in all honesty… I don't want it. It's ironic that I've always hated being the average guy, but now all I wish is for me to go back to my old, unfulfilling and yet… safer life."

The dark haired mortal lowered his head in shame, as old stereotypes demanded for a man to act in a more assertive and courageous manner, never showing weakness and especially not in front of a woman. Yet Keiichi couldn't help but feel terrified by the insecurity of having his whole life turn upside down, and no matter how much he wanted to reassure Belldandy that everything would be fine, he was a pretty bad liar. "It's funny how much I wanted for something exciting to happen in my life, and the moment it did… I chickened out. All I thought while I waited here was for a way to get away from your sister, the demons… and even you. I barely know you, Belldandy and… and I can't do it. I'm really sorry but I'm not a knight in shiny armor."

"Self preservation is one of your most important instincts, Keiichi-san. It's what keeps you from doing particularly risky things, and right now it's absolutely normal for you to want your old life back," said Belldandy, as she placed her hands on the mortal's shoulders and soothingly rubbed them. "Fear of the unknown, even fear in general is something pretty normal for you to experience under such circumstances. Don't think yourself as a coward because you're not acting like the protagonist of an adventure novel, or a videogame character. It's not your duty or sole purpose of life to save a damsel in distress, and neither is to embark on a lifelong journey. And if my sister is a bit pushy, I'll tell her to-"

"Wait! I'm good! I really am," said Keiichi with a shake of his head, as he tried to regain his composure. He knew that she was right, and probably shouldn't have allowed himself to break down like that in front of her, but now that he got that out of his chest, Keiichi decided that this wasn't him. No matter how much of ordinary person he was, Keiichi never saw himself as a coward, and he had no desire to turn into one either. And though he seemed to have lost the battle, he still had a chance to win the war. "Sorry for that, I… I think I was more frustrated and angry, than afraid. There's no need to tell Skuld anything at all. I'll talk to her later and resolve this mess in a mature manner. After all, I'm supposed to be the adult here, given that she's still a minor by your standards. Unless I'm mistaken of course."

"No, you're quite correct, Keiichi-san. Skuld's probably what you'd call a teenager here on Earth, so, she's still far from mature enough to be considered an adult goddess. Still, I've never seen her this determined, which makes me think that she deserves a chance to make up for the trouble she caused you." Knowing all too well how selfish her request was, Belldandy's eyes were filled with worry, despite Keiichi's attempts to pull his act together and recover from his near mental breakdown. "Please don't feel obligated to humor my sister on my or anyone else's behalf. I'd rather never meet you again and live knowing that you're happy and safe, than drag you into a never ending ordeal that'll ruin your chances for a normal life. I may be surprisingly clingy given my supposed reputation, but I care too much about you to put my happiness over yours."

The Norn's words strung a chord inside Keiichi's soul, causing him to forget everything about his misguided assumptions about Belldandy, since the demoness standing before him wasn't just some fangirl with a crush, or even a creepy stalker, but a woman who actually loved him. It probably took him a lot longer to figure it out, given that his own insecurities made it hard for him to accept reality and try to come up with an alternative explanation as to the Norn's intentions. In the end though it became apparent that such an attitude he wasn't doing a favor to anyone, and thus Keiichi had to make a tough decision. 'Well… I guess there's no point denying it; she does love me. Even under these circumstances, she still took the time and effort to make sure that I'm doing fine, and all I've done to repay that kindness was moan and groan about myself. And despite that, she still haven't given up on me and simply leave. So… should I let her walk away?'

Knowing how close he was from making a potentially devastating mistake, Keiichi summoned all the courage he possessed and pulled Belldandy in a hug caught her by surprise. "No, you're not clingy. Nothing I've seen yesterday suggests that you're like that. You're just trying to do your best even while facing such a hardship, and none of what happened since we met was really your fault. Even Skuld's outburst was justifiable -given the circumstances- since she worries about you. Hell… I would've blown a gasket if my sister was in your position, and all I could do was wait for some planned rescue. So, don't blame yourself for me being a bit sore about what happened. Just give me some time and I'll get better."

Belldandy slowly returned the hug, burying her face in Keiichi's neck, holding him tightly as she remained silent for a couple of seconds, until she felt his hand brush against her long ponytail. "Thank you. I wish we met under different circumstances, but… even as it is, I'm happy to know that I was right about you. You're a kind man, Keiichi-san."

The Norn's soothing tone, along with the tenderness of her embrace took Keiichi's mind completely off his problems. For the first time in the last couple of hours, all that fear and anxiety that tormented him were almost forgotten; replaced by an overwhelming feeling of happiness that Keiichi hadn't experienced in a very long time, if ever. As a matter of fact, he was astonished by how right it felt to be this close to a woman he used to consider as a total stranger, only for all that to change in such a short period of time. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I may be just a human, but I'll see how I can help Skuld to get you and the others free."

"You can start by hauling these batteries," came Skuld's voice from a fair distance that caused both of them to let out a yelp and pull away from each other, trying to regain their composure.

Yet for Belldandy, such a thing proved to be much more of a challenge when she actually got a glimpse of her sister's current appearance. Just like Peorth told her earlier, the youngest Norn was indeed capable of altering her physical body with that device of hers, which Belldandy assumed that she must've managed to recharge while she was talking with Keiichi. Yet despite knowing all that, she still seemed to have quite the hard time to accept that the goddess standing in front of her was her little sister. "Skuld? Is that… really you?"

"Huh? Of course I-" started the seemingly adult goddess, until she mentally kicked herself for not realizing what her sister's problem was. "Oh, you mean my appearance. I've made a device that helps me modify by age. Isn't that convenient?"

The middle Norn could only nod in stunned silence as she observed Skuld's older appearance -her future appearance- and as much as she hated to admit it, Belldandy was positively jealous. At least with Urd it was easier to accept that her dynamite body was a result to the striking family resemblance between the eldest Norn and her mother, Hild. However when it came to Belldandy herself and Skuld, the middle Norn never expected to be the less developed of the two. And considering that she was already aware that her little sister possessed a magical potential even greater than hers, it was hard not to feel a jealousy that Belldandy couldn't quite explain.

As a goddess she was nothing short of supportive of her sisters, to the point that she practically raised Skuld mostly by herself, with some assistance from Urd, since Ansuz was always too busy to tend to her secondborn's needs. So, knowing that Skuld would grow to be not only powerful but quite attractive as well… should've filled her heart with joy; only it didn't. Perhaps it was due to her current nature, coupled by the fact that she had to leave Keiichi in Skuld's care that made Belldandy quite nervous at the idea of trusting him to remain a perfect gentleman around her temporarily grown up, yet mentally immature sister.

"Hello, anyone inside?" asked Skuld as she pointedly rapped her knuckles against Belldandy's skull, while giving her a condescending look. "Come on Bell, I've already gotten that whole routine from mom, so, I don't need it again from you, too."

"Oh… sorry, I was lost in my thoughts." Shaking her head to snap out of it, Belldandy did her best to regain her composure. Only to realize that the way her sister was addressing her was quite unfamiliar to her; at least as far as Skuld was concerned. "Although… what did you call me, again?"

"Um… _Bell?_ " quipped the younger Norn, wondering if she accidentally said something offensive Which… was occasionally the case whenever she was in her _adult mode,_ despite the fact that her device only altered her physical appearance, rather than her state of mind. "Why? Is there something wrong with that?"

Nodding slowly, Belldandy couldn't help but notice the radical shift in Skuld's attitude towards her. In the past she almost exclusively referred to her as _oneesama_ , so to hear her call her by name, and even in such a casual manner sounded almost surreal to her. "No, absolutely not. It's just that… I wasn't expecting it, that's all. It seems that you've grown up a bit, Skuld. And I don't mean physically, either."

"Yeah… about freaking time, I'd say," laughed Skuld, before turning to Keiichi who was watching the sisters' interaction with great interest. "And speaking of time, I need some help to get my project done before nightfall, so that you don't have to sleep inside that container."

Raising an eyebrow, Keiichi had no idea what sort of project Skuld was talking about, but for the sake of reassuring Belldandy that everything would be fine, he simply offered her a nod. "That's alright. It's not that I've got anything better to do anyway. Just tell me what I need to do."

"In that case I'll have to leave you two," announced Belldandy, after taking a look at her watch. "I need to make sure that they won't find out that I'm missing, so I'll try to come again as soon as I can. In the meantime… take care of yourselves."

"You too, Belldandy-" started Keiichi with a slight smile on his face, only for Skuld to interrupt him.

"Don't worry, I'll keep him safe in the meantime," said Skuld with a wink, before she leaned closer to her sister and added in a much lower voice. "And untouched too… if you catch my drift."

" _SKULD!_ "

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

I think that's almost a running gag by now, but Aoshima's still alive and kicking. No, I'm not willingly trying to troll anyone into thinking that I've killed him off, only to find out that it's not actually the case. All I can say is that he's going to be gone at some point. Eventually.

Also I found it more appropriate to have Belldandy speak to Skuld first, before she went and met Keiichi. Considering how close the three sisters are, it make sense that she had to make sure that Skuld was doing fine and besides, the latter would've been devastated if she found out that her sister purposely ignored her.

As for Keiichi's discussion with Belldandy, it's important to keep in mind that this is actually the second time they met each other, and as much as I'd like to throw in a kiss towards the end, I had to resort with something tamer. Doing otherwise so soon (at least in story, since it's only been a day after their initial meeting) would've appeared almost too unrealistic. Still, I'm not going to take forever to push their relationship forward.


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

"Well, what do you think, Keiichi? Not bad for something I just whipped up in a couple of hours, right?"

The Norn's face was filled with pride as she presented the heavily modified 6x6 Unimog to the stunned mortal who could barely believe his eyes. In just a fraction of the time it would've taken even the most experienced specialists, Skuld had converted the truck into an expedition RV, fully equipped with some of the most essential amenities for Keiichi to survive more than a week, at almost any kind of environments. Furthermore, she had attached an enclosed trailer behind it, so that they could tow his trusty Beemer in order to avoid anyone from recognizing it and report them to the police.

"How? Just… _how?_ " was all Keiichi could come up with, staring at the black Unimog in wonder. "Where did you even get that truck from? And how did you manage to make all the modifications in such a short period of time?"

"Well, _I am_ a goddess, you know!" replied Skuld as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I did happen to have something like that back home, when I wanted to make a mobile home for me and my sisters, so that we could spend a few days in the grand forests of Alfheim. You know… even goddesses need a vacation once in awhile, so, I made this bad boy as a fun project a couple of years ago. You see, we couldn't quite agree whether to go to Midgard or Alfheim, so, I decided to bring a part of Midgard with us -namely the truck and all the amenities on it- and use that as our base of operations."

"Oh! Well, that explains a few things. I mean, there was no way you-" started Keiichi, only for Skuld to immediately interrupt him when she felt that he was no longer as impressed as he should be.

"Not so fast, buddy! Although I've made this thing a while ago, I still had to make tons of modifications for _your_ sake. For beginners, we goddesses don't need a lube, and that by itself was a pain to install. Plus, you need food to survive, so I had to make sure that I've freed up enough space for extra supplies. And I did all that in just under four hours!" said Skuld, holding up the equivalent number of fingers, just for added effect. "What do you think about _that_ , mister?"

"Actually… it's pretty impressive!" said Keiichi, who realized his folly and decided to try a dramatically different approach, before he ended up annoying the brunette goddess.

"You bet it is!" Crossing her arms in a prideful display, Skuld threw a thumb over her shoulder and gestured for him to climb aboard the RV. "But why don't you take a closer look? After all, you're gonna live in there for a while, so, feel free to check it out and tell me what you think!"

"Very well. Let's give it a look then."

XXX

"Okay girls! Let's try once more, and this time, put more _feeling_ to it!"

Staring at their dancing instructor who clapped in rhythm as he demonstrated the new routine they were going to use in their latest video clip, the two demonesses briefly wondered how a guy -and not to mention a mortal- could move even better than they did.

Pausing for a moment to take a look at the two of them, the instructor furrowed his brows, and then shook his head. "No, no no! That's not it! Miss Peorth! I said put more _feeling_ to it!"

" _That's what I'm doing!_ " objected Peorth, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. "Are you blind or something?"

"No, that's definitely not it, Miss Peorth!" insisted the instructor, with an equally dramatic display, that left Belldandy staring blankly between them. "This is _sexuality incarnate!_ We can't show that on national TV!"

"What are you even droning about? First I'm too stiff, and now I'm too sexy? Make up your freaking mind, will you?" snapped Peorth, who was getting dangerously close at throwing a spell at the infuriating mortal.

"You don't understand! What you need to display is the pure love of a young maiden who calls for her beloved," said the instructor in an almost dreamlike tone, and in the process missing Peorth's positively dirty look.

"Me? A young, lovestruck maiden? Give me a break!" sneered Peorth, causing Belldandy to back off as her roommate's sheer anger caught her off guard.

Ever since she returned back from visiting Keiichi and Skuld, the Norn of the present couldn't help but notice a rather dramatic change in Peorth's mood. At first she wondered if it had something to do with the argument they had earlier when Peorth told her about Skuld's presence on Earth. According to her, the young Norn was a bit too friendly towards Keiichi; a claim that Belldandy refused to accept as factual truth and more or less debunked it after her conversation with them.

Still, Belldandy couldn't understand why Peorth took it so hard, especially since she didn't seem to be angry at her at the time, only to give her the silent treatment after her meeting with Skuld and Keiichi. The only other explanation was that something took place during that time, but Peorth adamantly refused that this was the case and that she was just fine. Which she clearly wasn't, but Belldandy feared that pressing her any harder would only make matters worse.

"That's it! Let's have a fifteen minute break and then we can resume," announced the dance instructor, catching Belldandy's attention.

"Yeah, whatever…" muttered Peorth, before she turned around and headed to take a seat on one of the few chairs in the hotel's gym.

For a few moments silence filled the room, with the only sound coming from Belldandy's occasional attempt to start up a conversation, only to end up stopping before actually saying anything.

"Okay, out with it, Bell! What is it?" snapped Peorth, causing her roommate to jump at her uncharacteristically harsh tone.

"T-That should be my line, Peorth! What's wrong?" asked the Norn of the present, trying not to sound too confrontational. "I've never seen you act like that before. Please tell me what's eating you."

Looking at the Norn, Peorth cracked open an energy drink can and took a sip from it, mostly to buy herself some time in order to come up with a reply. In all seriousness, she had no desire to burden her with this sort of problem, but considering that it also concerned her, Peorth reluctantly decided to tell her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, Belldandy. It's just that… I'm rather angry with someone else and it's really starting to affect my mood. You see… yesterday one of the new guards discovered that you've slipped out of the hotel and came to me and offered an ultimatum. To spare you the details, he's willing to keep quiet about it, under the condition that I sleep with him."

" _What?!_ "

"Well, you heard me alright," spat Peorth as she took another swing from her energy drink. "And before you even ask… no, I'm not planning to let this guy have his way with me. After all, even if I did, there's no telling whether he'd stop there or keep asking for more… _favors_."

"I can't blame you. Doing what he wants will only make him grow bolder with his demands," said Belldandy with a heavy sigh. Under normal circumstances, demons always keep their word, but at the same time, not everyone cares too much about things like honor or even their own reputation. Such is an important thing for those with a lot of potential, as it allows them to secure important jobs, but for those at the bottom of the demonic hierarchy, the gains from breaking a deal are typically greater than the shortcomings. Of course, even those kind of characters wouldn't dare breach the terms of an official contract, but in this case, it's impossible to make something like that; not without admitting that they've been sneaking past the guards. "Still, what are we going to do, now?"

" _We?_ " asked Peorth with a raised eyebrow. "Belldandy, there's not need to get involved in-"

"Oh, give me a break! You think I'm just going to act as if this isn't my problem?" said Belldandy in a deadly serious, if not somewhat insulted tone. "Wouldn't you try to help me if I had to deal with such a guy?"

"Of course I would," said Peorth with some hesitation. "But… don't you have Keiichi to worry about already? You can't just handle everything on your own, Belldandy."

"Neither can you," insisted the Norn, her determination evident in her eyes. "Besides, Skuld can take care of Keiichi for the time being, so, let's deal with that… bloke. And I've got an idea on how to do it. First things first though! Do you happen to have any handcuffs? Preferably the same type one would use for bondage; like leather, or… Uh… why are you staring me like that?"

Peorth however said nothing, as she was far too stunned for words, and instead, leaned slightly away from the Norn of the present. 'It's the quiet ones! Always… those darned quiet ones!' Realizing that she's gone quiet for too long, Peorth cleared her throat and tried to regain her composure. "I _might_ be able to get you what you need. Although… why is that necessary to begin with?"

"Well, here's the plan!..."

XXX

 _Low Levels, Niflheim_

"For the last time, you're not allowed to leave this sector without the Daimakaicho's explicit authorization!"

" _Oh, really?_ " Crossing her arms, Urd gave the obstinate guard a cold stare that would've caused most to run away from her in terror. "I thought it was your job to monitor me, regardless of where I was. So, why not tag along and make sure I won't bring the end of the world or something."

Doing his best to ignore the sarcasm in the Norn's voice, the towering demon glimpsed at his subordinates who were scattered across the street, and as much as he hated to admit it, they were at a disadvantage. According to the rumors, Hild's daughter had spent most of her free time practicing on how to use her demonic powers, and on top of that, the former Valkyrie she had with her was a force to be reckoned with just on her own. Together, those two were a substantially greater threat, one that he honestly didn't think that he could handle on his own. And while it was unlikely that the headquarters wouldn't send reinforcements the moment anything happened, he wasn't willing to take a beating just to buy time for the others to arrive. "Where do you want to go, anyway?"

"The Skyline. I want to try some of the shops there," said Urd as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You wanna go _shopping?_ " barked the infuriated demon, leaning down to stare at the Norn with his eyes momentarily lighting up in a crimson glow. " _You think you can mess around with me?_ "

" _Yes…_ **on both accords** ," said Urd with such force as she momentarily slipped to the demons' old tongue, causing the guard to back off, despite the latter's attempts to act tough. Her power made not only her eyes, but her entire being to burn in a malevolent crimson flame, leaving wisps of dark smoke rise from both her and the entire area around her. Then suddenly the air became heavy with the acrid scent of ashes, choking everyone within range; all except Lind and even a few of her own staff who came out of the casino to see what was happening. It was obvious that only her guards were affected by the Norn's aura, leaving them clawing at their throats in agony. Even those far from her were in extreme pain, but more than anyone else, the big shot who previously attempted to intimidate her was now on his knees, tears freely escaping from his eyes. " **I take it that you had enough? Or should I actually get unpleasant?** "

Shaking his head, the demon silently begged for her to stop, pointing at his burning throat. Only for his pleas to fall on deaf ears as Urd stared at him with an almost apathetic look, until Lind placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think that should be enough, Urd."

The Norn however didn't immediately respond, and when she eventually did, it was apparent that something was wrong. She seemed way more bloodthirsty than initially anticipated, and for a moment, Lind worried that their plan was about to backfire on them. The whole idea was to cause a scene to attract Hagall's attention, but not in a manner that seems as if she's being broken; rather the exact opposite. If the Daimakaicho's goal was indeed to turn Urd into Hild's worthy successor, then such an aggressive display would make her realize that she was closer to her goal, and hopefully take Urd closer to her. Once in the Skyline, they'd have a much greater chance to do something about their situation than from all the way down here, but… Urd's behavior was making Lind quite nervous. "Urd? Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes." Snapping her fingers, she released the guard from her influence and took a few steps back to regain her composure. The sheer ecstasy of her demonic power caused her to momentarily lose herself into the sensation, and even felt tempted to keep going, but thankfully Lind stepped in and stopped her before she went too far. Still, that was disconcerting, as her initial confidence about her control over her demonic powers seemed to be misplaced. 'I should've known that it wasn't going to be so easy to master what I never practiced for my entire life. This was a close call but…'

Watching the guard hurry off to put some distance between himself and the half demoness, Lind turned her attention back at Urd and relaxed her grip on her shoulder. "Let's go inside. You've done your job, so all we have to do now is to wait and see how Hagall is going to respond."

Wordlessly, Urd accepted the former Valkyrie's offer, letting her guide her inside the casino, yet she was far from happy with the outcome of this plan. So far the whole point of her training was to familiarize herself with her demonic powers, and while successful to a great degree, her control of them remained relatively shaky. 'I'm missing something. Mother could use way more power and never lost her control. So… what's wrong with me? Why can't I do it, too?'

XXX

 _Earth_

It was quite funny in a way, but despite the relatively crammed space, the RV proved to be more comfortable than Megumi's apartment, and not to mention the tiny dorm room he used to live in back in his college days. Actually, once he loaded the Beemer onto the trailer, he and Skuld set off to the outskirts of Nekomi, trying to put some distance between themselves and the police who were likely looking for them. Ideally, they would've left the city altogether, but the main issue with that course of action was Belldandy's inability to teleport; or rather, doing so would immediately alert the demons of her whereabouts.

"You know, that's not good enough," said Skuld after several minutes of silence, drawing Keiichi's attention, who at the time being was driving the truck for them. "As much as I hate to admit it, such an RV is a bit too uncommon in these parts. If we stick around for too long, they might start to suspect us."

"Yes, but… if we leave Nekomi, then how is Belldandy going to come into contact with us?" asked Keiichi, keeping his eyes on the road, instead of looking at the goddess on the passenger seat next to him. "After all, you told me that she can't teleport without letting them find out that she's gone."

"That I did. However, I do happen to be a goddess and all I need is water to teleport to and from a location. With Nekomi being surrounded by the sea on one side and a river running through the city, I think it's more than easy for me to get us in and out of there before anyone sees us. So, how about we move further away from the city?"

Keiichi remained silent for a moment, considering their options and no matter how much he wanted to stay closer to Nekomi, it soon became apparent to him that it was far too risky. "Very well… I think it's better if we move elsewhere. And I do actually know a place remote enough to let us hide in there for a while without anyone looking for us there."

"Does it have an easily accessible source of water?" asked Skuld as soon as she heard Keiichi's reply.

"How does a lake sound to you?" offered Keiichi with a slight grin.

"It sounds like a plan." Happy that they sorted this problem out, Skuld knew that there was one more topic to deal with, although that wasn't going to be as easy as this one. "Um… speaking of going to Nekomi…"

"Yes?"

"Look, I was wondering if we should… visit your sister," said Skuld with some hesitation. She was treading dangerous waters after all, as reminding Keiichi of the sister he had to leave behind could potentially make him wish to go back. And as much as she didn't want to exploit him just for her sister's sake, at the time being, he was a wanted man; so, going back was a one way ticket to prison.

"You think that we can slip into her apartment without getting noticed?" asked the dark haired mortal after a long pause. It was too tempting to simply say yes, as he really wanted to explain things to Megumi, rather than leaving her to worry about him, let alone believe the story the police must've told her by now. Yet going there was a risky proposition, given that the authorities must be monitoring her apartment, just in case he shows over there.

"Like I said… I can teleport us," suggested Skuld, even though she avoided to mention the downsides of such a plan.

Keiichi however, didn't miss a beat as he immediately caught on and frowned at the idea. "Sure, but… there's no way of doing that without explaining your nature to her."

"Quite frankly, Keiichi… keeping my nature a secret won't help you explain things to her at all. I mean… what are you even going to say? And besides, I need to apologize, too."

"Okay, you've got a point there," admitted Keiichi with a sigh. As much as he didn't wish to drag Megumi to this madness, it was better to actually tell her the basics; just so that she knew what was going on here. "In the meanwhile, I'll take us to an old lakeside inn. A friend of my late grandfather owns it, so we should be able to camp near it."

Scratching her chin, Skuld thought about Keiichi's proposition for a while and pursed her lips nervously. "That depends. Can we trust him?"

"Yes, I think so. Besides, it's not like we can literally live in middle of nowhere, so it we have to pick our neighbors, then it's probably better to be someone we know."

"Well… if you put it this way, then I suppose I don't have any objections. So, take us there, Keiichi."

XXX

 _Niflheim_

"You have no idea how lucky you are, dear Urd. If word of this… incident reaches Hagall-sama's ears, then she might reconsider being so kind to you." Circling her like a hungry vulture, Sokkmimir couldn't believe his luck. Considering all the stress he's been going through as of late, the news of Urd's incident almost sounded like music to his ears. For once, he felt confident that he had her cornered and all he needed was to keep up the pressure until she caves in and submits to his demands. And from that point on, his rise to power would be all but reassured.

On the other hand though, Urd was far less enthusiastic for being 'rescued' by this particular guy, especially when her initial idea was to attract Hagall's attention. 'Sheesh… that guy sure loves the sound of his voice. Just let me go already!'

Coming to a stop behind her, Sokkmimir studied the half demoness' body language and as much as he hated to admit it, Urd seemed utterly bored. Most other demonesses in her place would've been horrified to find themselves in this predicament, yet Hild's daughter was either fearless, or didn't expect much from him. And while he had no issues if it turned out to be the former case, Sokkmimir wanted to make sure that she took him seriously enough. "Still, as much as I like you, I'm afraid that I cannot simply save your skin without gaining something back from this… deal."

"I don't have anything to offer," muttered Urd offhandedly, until she felt a pair of hands on her sides, creeping their way towards her ample bosom. " _Hey, what do you think you're doing?!_ "

"Getting my reward, dear Urd," whispered the demon in her ear as he leaned against her back, pulling her closer and then all of a sudden he unceremoniously pulled her purple dress open, his greedy hands reaching for those bountiful mounds of flesh he so much desired. "We've been going around the subject for more than two years… and as patient as I normally am, I'm starting to get irritated by your defiance."

Grinding her teeth in rage, Urd took a breath to regain her composure and instead of slamming her elbow on his gut, the Norn reached back and cupped the most sensitive part of the demon's anatomy. "Good… then I'm not the only one who's getting restless."

"Mmm… so, you do want it then?" purred Sokkmimir, pleased to see that in the end it proved to be way easier than he expected. "Come on, then. Let's not waste more time with pointless words… I've been waiting for this for _so_ long already!"

"Yes… I can feel it," purred Urd in such a suggestive manner that it was almost indecent. "Show me what you've got."

Removing one hand from her chest, Sokkmimir eagerly complied to her request and fiddled with his pants, until he could feel her hand brushing against his exposed skin. "Well? Don't keep me waiting!... Tell me what you think."

'You're one sad disappointment… that's what I think.' Happy that he couldn't see her disgusted grimace, Urd did her best to put a smile on her face and looked over her shoulder at the overexcited demon. "Say… would you like the most electrifying experience of your life?"

Letting out a happy moan, Sokkmimir leaned closer to her face, his lips almost approaching hers, and grinned. "Mmm… when you say it like this… there's no way to refuse, my dearest Urd. Still, why don't you tell me what you've got in mind? I'd love to hear you say it."

"Something really good… But it's going to be a surprise." Taking her hand off him, the Norn suggestively licked a finger, and then reached back, running it along his most sensitive part. "Are you still interested? Should I do it?"

"By all means!" almost shouted the Daimakaicho's deputy, his mind too overwhelmed with lust to realize that there was something off with Urd's expression that slowly changed from a smile to a grin.

A truly chilling grin with her canines becoming more and more pronounced by the second, and even her eyes turned into tiny cat like slits. Only then did the demon realize that he was playing with fire, but by then it was far too late to react.

" _Hellfire Thunder Blast!_ "

Despite the ear shattering explosion, Urd could clearly hear Sokkmimir's pained scream, as his broken body slammed against the window, sending cobweb like cracks along the glass surface. She didn't even care about the sirens that blared as soon as she unleashed her power, or the fact that Niflheim's forces were on route to apprehend her.

All she cared for was to see this place burnt down to the ground, which she did starting by letting her flames consume this idiot's flesh, all while she gleefully watched this grim sight, cackling like a madwoman.

XXX

 _Earth_

"Special room service!"

Knocking the door of their target's room, Peorth briefly glanced over at Belldandy who stood beside her, before taking a deep breath and forced herself to smile.

"Not now!" came the muffled voice from inside the room. "I'm waiting for guests!"

" _We're_ the guests!" barked Peorth, as she was about to kick the door, only for Belldandy to stop her.

"Think of the poor door before you do anything drastic. Actually, let me handle this," said the Norn of the present, and then knocked the door once again. "Kind sir… your booty call is here!"

There was pause as not only Peorth gave the otherwise reserved brunette a stare, but it was pretty obvious that whoever was inside didn't seem to believe his ears. Actually, it took him a good couple of seconds to reach the door, and opening it slowly, the guard poked his head outside in an almost fearful manner. "Uh… I thought that I've only asked for Peorth to come."

"That's quite correct," replied Belldandy, tapping her roommate's hand to let her know that she wished to do the talking. She was quite surprised to find out that this particular guard wasn't one of the demons originally assigned to keep an eye at them, but an earth spirit subcontractor, who willingly worked for the demons, and probably came here as part of the request for reinforcements after Skuld's arrival. Which also explained quite a bit about the nature of his demands, as such opportunists didn't even have a demon's common decency, and all they cared about was their personal gain. Still, despite Peorth's negligence to mention that fact, Belldandy wished to stick to their original plan, as improvising could be quite risky at this point. "However, I'd love to give her a hand, and considering the nature of the request… the more, the merrier. So, can we come inside?"

"Nope, not happening!" said the earth spirit, flat out refusing what most others would've accepted without much of a second thought. "She's more than welcome, but you're not!"

" _Excuse me?_ " Blinking hard, Belldandy was having a hard time to accept that out of all possible responses, she got rejected like that. Not that she actually had any intentions to partake in a debauchery, but for their plan to work, both former goddesses needed to be present. After all, once they manage to trick this guy into letting them tie him, they had to work fast and seal him, before he realized that they weren't actually into bondage… but the whole thing was merely a ploy. And while it was now proven to be easier than anticipated, given that he wasn't actually a demon, it was still no less of a challenge to pull such a stunt right under the rest of the guards' noses, and then destroy any evidence this guy must've in order to blackmail them. Only for this bloke to mess things up by being unnecessarily picky about which of them he wanted to take advantage of, which in turn compromised their plan and did little to improve Belldandy's mood as well. "Would you mind explaining why _I'm_ not welcome?"

"Have you already forgotten that you're the Daitenkaicho's daughter?" shot the guy back to her, albeit with some hesitation, as if he was trying to come up with an excuse. "Say what you will about me, but I'm not an idiot! Whoever touches you will end up killed or worse! Either way, I don't wanna find out, so get out of here!"

Putting her leg forward to stop him from slamming the door shut, Belldandy's expression darkened, causing the earth spirit to take a few steps back in fear. "I'm getting nowhere! I came here to help Peorth, because of your ridiculous demands… and by all means, I'm gonna help her! Whether you like it or not, that's none of my problem!"

"Hey, don't use that tone on me! You're the prisoner here, so you don't get to make demands! It's the other way around!" said the guard in a desperate attempt to regain control of the situation, but it seemed much easier in theory than it was in practice. Worse yet, it was pretty evident just by hearing his voice that he was starting to become fearful of the Norn, and that was more than enough reason for Belldandy to try what she considered as plan C.

Which actually consisted of straight punch to the face, followed by a jab to the jaw, and then a kick to the gut. The three hit combo was delivered in such speed and precision that there was hardly enough time for either the guard or even Peorth to register was taking place, let alone react to it.

"W-What did just happen?!" stammered Peorth, watching aghast as the guard hit the floor like a sack. This was far from the original plan, and no matter how much she didn't mind finding a way to make their lives easier, Peorth had to admit that she was genuinely worried. There were too many things that could possibly go wrong from this point on, as such a brute force method was particularly risky, but considering that Belldandy managed to neutralize him so easily, the chances for the others to find out were somewhat minimal.

"I think I resolved our problem in a more… timely fashion," said Belldandy, clearing her throat and then grabbed the unconscious body of the guard and dragged him inside the room, before anyone saw what happened. "Besides, I didn't get a Valkyrie's license for nothing!"

Following her inside, Peorth shut the door behind her, and for the next couple of minutes watched Belldandy prepare the sealing circle that would act as a catalyst to get this guy locked inside a CD. She had to admit that despite her occasionally aggressive personality, Peorth had to give Belldandy some credit for pulling such a stunt without much of a second thought. Even more, this probably had little to do with their current nature, but something the Norn would've done either way, regardless of whether she was a demoness or not. Of course, this was highly unlikely for Belldandy to immediately resort to such measures as her first option, but the mere fact that she possessed such a strong character earned her some respect in Peorth's eyes.

Realizing that she's been standing there doing absolutely nothing, the dark haired demoness shook her head and moved closer to Belldandy, trying to make herself useful. "Okay, what's the plan now? Should we go with our original idea, or try something different."

"Hm… considering that he's out cold, I can handle him on my own. Unfortunately, I need to readjust my original formula to contain an Earth Spirit rather than a demon, but it should only take me a minute or two," said Belldandy as she feverishly worked drawing the runes on the floor, before she looked over at Peorth. "So, why don't you start searching the room for the alleged evidence of our activities?"

"Okay, I got it!" Yet as soon as she was about to do as being told, Peorth registered a blur in her peripheral vision, causing her to spin around and find that the guard was miraculously back on his feet. Worse of all, he was about to smack Belldandy's head, given that she was far too absorbed with her runes to immediately take notice of the incoming threat. " _Watch out, Belldandy!_ "

"Huh?" By the time the Norn looked up to see what was going on, the guard's palm made contact with the top of her head. " _OW!_ "

XXX

 _Niflheim_

Locked in a military facility at the outer fringes of the infernal capital, Urd laid in bondage inside the most secure cell they had available for her. She had so many heavy duty chains attached to her person that even something as simple as walking felt an awkward experience. And not to mention the sheer number of limiters placed upon her, just to prevent the Norn from running amok once again. Which kind of pleased her, knowing that they were so afraid of her power to justify such extreme measures.

Still, Urd had no delusions as to her chances to get out of here anytime soon. And with nothing better to do, the half demoness tried to count the tiles on the ceiling for the tenth time already. She had no idea when she would be granted permission to talk to the Daimakaicho, who most certainly had a few things to discuss with her, after she effectively neutered her direct subordinate.

Unfortunately though, Hagall was taking her sweet time summoning her for the mandatory questioning, which left Urd in a state of restlessness. Patience after all, had never been one of Urd's strongest points, and the more she waited, the less convinced she became that this entire thing was a great idea.

Then all of a sudden, the silence inside the room was interrupted by the heavy duty door's locking mechanisms as they activated one after the other, followed by the low, metallic groan of the door itself as it swung open.

'Finally! It's about time someone decided to pay me a visit! Now, let's see what's gonna happen.'

As expected, the Daimakaicho along with her personal guard and a couple of high ranking officials arrived at the cell's doorstep, but with a slight gesture of her hand, Hagall commanded her retinue to hold their position and ventured inside on her own. To say that she didn't seem pleased would've been the understatement of the century, but to her credit, the blonde demoness remained poised and collected as she approached the bound Norn. Stopping right in front of her, Hagall's piercing eyes studied the almost uncharacteristically stoic half demoness, who simply stared back at her, waiting for her visitor's reaction. "That was utterly foolish. I don't know what possessed you into thinking that you can get away with such an attitude, but you're dead wrong if you believe that all you're going to get is a slap on the wrist."

" _My_ attitude? Well, _excuse me_ for not wanting to let your _brilliantly gifted_ deputy to take me for a spin" sneered Urd with such force that caused Hagall's eyes to widen. "Why don't we get honest with each other for once and talk about my role in this place? Because during those two and a half years I was under the impression that you wanted me to become your rightful heir to your position, or something. Yet, you've done nothing other than let a damned idiot of a bureaucrat harass me, and let's not even mention my sister who also has to deal with an even worse pervert!"

"You want me to be honest with you?" snapped Hagall back at the Norn, clenching her fists as she struggled to keep herself from losing her control. "For the last couple of years I've repeatedly attempted to make you see that your rightful place is here, as your mother's successor to the position of the Daimakaicho, yet all you cared about was to run back to a life of insignificance! I tried to give you a purpose, and you denied it on every given opportunity!"

" _Screw your purpose, and screw you too!_ " snarled Urd at the Daimakaicho, not even caring to remain relatively polite as she used to in the past. "Do you think that I'd simply switch sides that easily? That I'd ignore the fact that you've turned Belldandy and the others into demonesses against their will? Did you honestly believe that I've forgotten that you sealed my own _mother?_ The very person who took _you_ in, while everyone else thought that you were a failure; as they should. _Failure._ "

" _Shut up!_ " shouted Hagall, slapping her across the face, and was about to backhand her too, only to stop at the last second. "You know nothing! I told you that there was a reason why I had to seal Hild-sama! And it's not my fault that you dragged your sister all the way here to depose me on the very first day I took over the Daimakaicho's position! You should've remained back to your cozy home, rather than trying to making a fool of me! Taking me down on your own? Do you think I'm so weak for a handful of goddesses to depose me that easily?"

"I never dragged anyone in this mess! I wanted to come on my own, but Belldandy wouldn't take no for an answer!"

"Well, that's your problem, not mine! After all, what was I supposed to do? Let them go away with this? Do you think that someone worthy of the Daimakaicho's title should allow such incident to occur without doing anything about it? Besides, I could've sealed all of you forever, and just get it over with!"

"In some ways, that would've been better." Letting out a sigh, Urd decided to back off a bit. No matter how hard it was to contain her anger, the Norn knew that pushing the Daimakaicho over the edge would only get herself sealed, and thus let everyone down by essentially abandoning them; Belldandy included. "But if you fool yourself into thinking that siding with such bloody morons will get you anywhere, then you're not worthy of the Daimakaicho's title to begin with. After all, Sokkmimir not only wants to use my body, but also turn me against you, so that I get rid of you and then control me from behind the scenes. Is this the kind of ally you need?"

"No, that should be more than obvious," admitted Hagall, turning away from the Norn as she too tried to calm herself down. "I was well aware of Sokkmimir's shortcomings, and deliberately picked someone like him to become a placeholder for what I originally wanted to be your position, but… he turned out to be more problematic than anticipated. To that, I'll have to apologize on his behalf."

"Spare me the pleasantries," said Urd with a roll of her eyes. "If you really want to do something other than waste both our time, then there only one thing to do."

Turning around to stare at the bound half demoness, Hagall was intrigued by the sheer determination behind Urd's eyes. "Oh? And what would that be?"

" _Give me his position._ "

XXX

 _Earth_

Approaching the parked RV as quietly as she possibly could, the teal haired goddess was pleased that there was no sign of demonic presence in the vicinity. 'At the very least, they can take a break and relax for once. With everything that happened during the last couple of hours, the poor dears deserve a moment of peace and…'

Coming to a stop as she was just about ready to knock the door, Ansuz's ears picked the almost unmistakable sound of… moaning. And to be more precise, her daughter's content moans, in that deeper voice she possessed in her adult mode. 'Whoa, whoa!... What's going on in there?!'

"Oh…. mmnn…. oh yes! That's the best thing… ever! So… relaxing..."

Pressing her ear against the door's surface, Ansuz just hoped that either it was an unfortunate side effect of her long time role as the Interspecies Romance Inquisitor to think that such things are happening all over the place… or her youngest discovered a most disagreeable and totally unethical use of her age modification device. Suffice to say, she was far from amused.

The elder goddess even considered the most severe of punishments to _both_ of them; especially the mortal, who most certainly knew about Skuld's age and yet went ahead with himself. 'A mantis. I'm gonna turn him into a mantis and get eaten the next time he…'

Her winglets flapped as if she was about to take off, her eyes burned in a golden flame, and her whole body unleashed such a torrent of celestial energy, that even third class spirits in the South Pole thought that the world was about to come to an end.

Needless to say, such a dramatic display of power was more than enough to catch Skuld's attention, who more or less rushed for the door, just as her mother was about to smash it down in her anger. The youngest of the Norns didn't even have the opportunity to summon a much more conservative set of clothes, leaving herself in the tight yoga pants and sports bra she was wearing at the moment; which… only added fuel to the proverbial fire. "Uh… mom? What are _you_ doing here?

" _That's my line!_ " snapped Ansuz, poking her daughter's nose with a finger, as the poor Norn tried to backpedal away from her. Yet she didn't even pause to further reprimand her, sidestepping the stunned brunette, in search of the other participant in this debauchery. " _Stop hiding, and come out, NOW!_ "

Staring at her mother in both shock and confusion, Skuld couldn't help but wonder just what was going on here. She had no idea who her distraught and quite furious mother was referring to, since the only other person here was Keiichi; and he was back in the trailer, tinkering with his bike. Not that it was a big priority at the time being, but Skuld thought that anything that could give the poor guy a semblance of normalcy was going to be a huge morale boost for him. 'Seriously… what's gotten into her? It's almost as if she's looking for a someone hiding in my… closet? Like a… dude maybe? Whoa! Hold it!...'

Squinting her eyes at her mother, who was feverishly searching through every nook and cranny for the mysterious guy, Skuld assumed to be Keiichi, and eventually decided that this farce had gone too far. "If you're looking for Keiichi, then he's back in the trailer, working on his bike," said the brunette Norn, crossing her arms while her expression progressively darkened. "Seriously, mom! I may be a bit immature at times, but I thought that you knew better! Do you honestly believe I'd ever try to hit on Belldandy's crush?... Not to mention that I'm only looking like _this old_ only thanks to my Time Accelerator! Do you seriously think that he's gonna tap me while knowing that?"

It was a bit too late to pretend that she hadn't totally misunderstood what was going on, so, Ansuz decided to cut her losses and go through the humiliating experience of being scolded by the youngest of her daughters, despite being several times Skuld's age. "Alright… Perhaps my experiences of dealing with interspecies couples may had… clouded my judgment and caused me to jump to an early conclusions. Still, in my defense… what was all that moaning for? Do you even have any idea what you sounded like?"

"Hm… like one of those adult actresses?" mused Skuld as her cheeks became red in embarrassment, just from uttering those words. As a matter of fact, she probably should've phrased that reply a lot better, given that it was an indirect admission of knowing things she normally shouldn't; even though she actually read about those videos in one of her manga, where the main character kept a hidden stash of _those_ DVDs under his bed.

"Dare I ask where you learned about _those_ things from?" Tapping her foot on the floor, Ansuz looked around the room for any hints as to the reason of this whole fiasco, and soon her eyes came across a massage chair in the far corner, next to the bed.

Following her mother's gaze, Skuld's lips slightly curled up in a smile, as the proud inventor was given the opportunity to not only explain herself, but also showcase one of her creations. "You like that? I've actually made it a long time ago for Urd, after she asked Belldandy to give her a backrub because that lumphead worked for five hours straight in her lab, and ended up with a stiff back."

"And yet you made something like this for her. I knew that you had a weak spot for Urd-chan, but… you're such a softy sometimes," said Ansuz with a giggle, as she approached to take a better look at the massage chair. "Now, how does it work? I can't see a control panel anywhere."

"It's voice controlled, so all you need to do is take a seat and use some simple instructions to make it do what you want. Which… is where all those comments of mine came from. For example, you can instruct it where you wish it to focus, as well as the intensity of the massage," explained Skuld, until she noticed the odd grin on her mother's face, and paused to clear her throat. "And before you even say it… back when I first designed this, I had no idea how suggestive it sounds, if you take those commands into a totally different context. Now that I think of it though, perhaps that's why Urd kept sniggering whenever she used it."

'Alright that explains a few things…' Taking a seat on the chair, Ansuz watched her daughter set the device up for her, and as claimed it only took her a few simple instructions to get it working. "Oh! That's… actually… quite pleasant!"

"Of course it is! What were you expecting anyway?" said Skuld, trying not to sound too sarcastic due to her mother's apparent lack of faith in her abilities to create something that wasn't intended to blow up at point or another. "As long as I can imagine it, and have the right materials to work with, I can build _everything!_ "

Rather than a direct response to her daughter's prideful display, Ansuz relaxed against the massage chair, and enjoyed the sensation of getting a backrub. Still, she studied her daughter's almost casual body language as the latter sat on the bed opposite of her, and for the most part it was hard to even recognize her. "You've changed. And I don't mean your Time Accelerator temporary turning you into an adult. You're far from the crybaby I used to know, Skuld."

"Gee… thanks a lot, mom!" sneered Skuld, crossing her arms in front of her, and even used them to subtly lift her chest a bit, just to spite Ansuz for calling her a crybaby. "First you think that I'm trying to hit on my sister's crush, and now you even question my maturity. I know that I'm not as old as I look, but still-"

"Age has nothing to do with how you act in a stressful situation," said Ansuz, cutting her daughter short, before this devolved into an argument. "Even _I_ am starting to get affected by this whole mess, and I've been around way longer than all you three together. And not to mention that I've been a Valkyrie for most of that period of time, too!" admitted Ansuz, much to her shame, lowering her head to avoid staring straight at her daughter's face. "I'm tired of this waiting game, Skuld. I've dealt with a lot of nonsense throughout my life, but to leave my daughter like that… it's not easy."

"I know the feeling. When I first came here I was so eager to help, and then… I just messed things up for Belldandy and Keiichi. So, I'm trying my best not to overreact anymore, even though it's so hard that I sometimes wonder for just how long I'm gonna keep my cool. I guess that taking care of Keiichi is a good distraction at the moment, but if this keeps up, he might be the one to take after me, especially if I turn into a crybaby once again."

"Say what you will, but I still think that you've made a tremendous progress over those two and a half years. Perhaps once we all get back home, you'll see that your sisters will treat you as an adult too," said Ansuz with a ghost of a smile, as she noticed the faint blush on her daughter's cheeks. But before the Norn had the opportunity to respond, the door came open, revealing none other than the mortal who had captured her elder daughter's heart. "Oh, my! You must be, Keiichi-kun!"

" _Eh?_ "

XXX

"I'm so sorry! I had no idea it was you, dad!" whined the pained Norn, holding an ice pack on top of her head, while Peorth tended to the earth spirit's swollen cheek.

"Perhaps next time, you'll take the hint and realize that there's something going on here, rather than shoot first and ask questions later," replied Tyr, wincing a bit as Peorth pressed the ice pack harder against the possessed earth spirit's cheek. "After trying so hard to find the best opportunity to infiltrate this place, you nearly ruined everything by overreacting to what in reality was a mere ruse, so that I could talk to Peorth _in private_. With demons lurking in the shadows, I couldn't risk revealing my true identity before I was absolutely sure that this room was free of listening devices or scrying spells."

Despite her elation to meet her father, even under such circumstances, Belldandy couldn't help but frown at Tyr's methods, especially as far as Peorth was concerned. "I'm quite grateful of your efforts, father, although I'll have to point out that you've caused a lot of unneeded stress to Peorth. At the very least, you could've picked a better excuse, instead of being so insensitive about it!"

"Uh, Belldandy… it's alright-" said Peorth in an effort to appease the Norn and prevent an argument on her behalf, yet her roommate refused to listen.

"No, it's not! We're already under enough stress as it is, and there's not need to make a bad situation worse, by using such crude methods." Fixing a pointed glare at Peorth, just to discourage her from trying to defend the Daitenkaicho, only because of his position, Belldandy turned back to the god in question and frowned. "Seriously, dad! I was so worried about this whole situation, only to find out that it was all for naught! And don't let her attempts to sound polite fool you, either! Just because you're the Daitenkaicho doesn't mean that you can be _this_ insensitive! At the very least, an apology is in due!"

Tyr could only stare in shock as his daughter's outburst -though justified- almost seemed too aggressive for someone who used to be as sweet and polite as the Norn of the present was supposed to be. Yet in some ways, he couldn't quite put all the blame in her current demonic nature, as such would've been Ansuz's response, if she happened to be in Belldandy's shoes. And noticing Peorth's stunned expression, who was likely expecting an angry retort from him, all thanks to his daughter's sheer lack of respect, Tyr realized that being a former celestial, Peorth was too obedient to demand an apology on her own. "Well, I'll have to admit that you've got a point, Belldandy," said Tyr with a sigh, before he turned to the confused Peorth, and actually offered her a slight bow. "Peorth, I'm terribly sorry for the unnecessary distress I've caused to you."

" _T-Tyr-sama?_ " stammered the aforementioned former goddess, clearly unaccustomed to have the Daitenkaicho himself bow his head to her. Especially now that she was a demoness of all things, which left her in a state of complete shock. "P-Please… t-t-there's n-no need to-"

Yet before Peorth could finish her sentence, Belldandy leaned closer to her father and whispered to him in a low, yet clearly audible tone. "I've actually hit your cheek, not your back, dad. So, you can definitely bow a bit lower than that."

Fixing his daughter a rather pointed, yet stoic stare, Tyr remained silent as she returned his gaze with one that eerily reminded him of Hild… when she was messing around with him. 'At no point in my life I thought that the day would come for Belldandy to pull something like that on me. Urd?... Sure. Skuld?... Maybe. But… _Belldandy?_ ' Turning his attention back to Peorth, Tyr pointed at the Norn and raised an eyebrow. "Is she always like this?"

"No! Most definitely, not!" said Peorth, emphatically shaking her head. "Normally she's either acting like she used to, or all broody and silent. This… this is totally new!"

"Hm…" Scratching his chin, Tyr stared at his daughter with a thoughtful expression, and then shook his head. "At any rate, I'm happy to know that you're both in good health. And hopefully, I'll manage to stick around for a while, just to make sure that nothing bad happens to you. In the meanwhile, Ansuz is visiting Skuld and Keiichi to ensure that they're fine as well."

"So, mother is here too…" mused Belldandy, with a much more serious expression than before. With both her parents present in the mortal realm, and their guards not being the sharpest tools in the shed, Belldandy wondered if it was about time they do something about their situation. "Although what about Urd and Lind? Are there any news from them? Given what's been going on as of late, I didn't manage to reach them."

"Oh, there are news alright! Apparently your sister got a promotion, just a an hour ago," said Tyr in a rather detached manner, almost as if he still had some serious trouble to believe it.

"A… promotion?" asked Belldandy, and then shared a confused glance with Peorth, who simply shook her shoulders in response. "What kind of promotion? Was she offered to manage another business?"

"If Niflheim itself counts as a corporation… then, yes," said Tyr in a deadly serious tone that caused the former goddesses' eyes to go wide from shock. "You see… an hour ago, the Daimakaicho promoted Urd to the position of her deputy."

"Wait… _what?_ " said Peorth, trying to comprehend just what she's been told, with Belldandy far too shocked to even offer a word. "She's Hagall's second in command? Then… she's also..."

"That's correct," said the possessed earth spirit with a solemn nod. "She's effectively your boss, now."

"What about… her predecessor?" managed Belldandy, far too shocked to even recall Sokkmimir's name.

"From what I've heard, she wiped the floor with him, after he tried to get too friendly with her. And if the rumors turn out to be true, then she more or less neutered him, on top of that."

The former goddesses' jaws almost hit the floor and shared an incredulous look, wondering just what possessed the elder Norn to attack such a high ranking demon; at least, in such violent manner. After all, there was a difference between self defense and a vicious, all out counterattack. Worse yet, neither of them thought that Urd was even violent enough to pull such a stunt, unless… she started to depend too much on her demonic side as of late.

"Now, I think that you both need to go back to your room, before anyone starts wondering what you're doing in mine. We can resume this later, since I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes, we'll definitely talk again, once we're done with today's schedule." Nodding, Belldandy did her best to regain her composure, and despite her previous attitude, she offered her father -or rather the body he was currently possessing- a warm smile. "And before I forget it… I'm really happy to see you again, dad; despite the circumstances of our meeting."

"Yes, me too, Belldandy. Oh, and before I forget… nice punch."

XXX

Considering all the crazy things he came to experience during the last couple of hours, Keiichi was almost certain that at this point there was nothing left to surprise him anymore; only to find out just how wrong he was. The commotion coming from the RV was far from unusual to attract his immediate attention, given that Skuld was far from the most quiet of goddesses, so he merely assumed that she was up to no good, but… to find out that she had company was indeed something unexpected. And not only that, but their teal haired visitor dressed in a bizarre mix of a skintight bodysuit and a ballerina's tutu, was actually her and Belldandy's mother.

Needless to say, the fact that this Ansuz girl looked younger than both Belldandy and even Skuld's adult form was one of the first things Keiichi noted about her. The next was that all his preconceptions about what immortal parents must've been like… turned out to be totally wrong. Sure, he too had some pretty eccentric parents, but the discussion -or rather argument- that followed took the bizarreness factor to a new level.

"After all that scene about me doing touchy feely stuff… you go ahead and hump him? _The Hell. mom?!_ " snarled the irate Norn of the future, fixing Ansuz a rather pointed glare.

"No, I did not!" said the teal haired goddess, folding her arms defensively, and then looked away from her furious daughter. "It was a most chaste and friendly hug, that you're deliberately misinterpreting to get me back for before!"

"Oh, gimme a break! I never saw you being this friendly with anyone before. Not even dad!"

"Do you seriously want me to get touchy feely with your dad, right in front of you?" countered Ansuz with a raised eyebrow, causing her daughter to turn slightly green.

" _Eww! No!_ " shouted Skuld, shaking her head vigorously from side to side. "But… that doesn't mean that I want you to do that with Belldandy's crush!"

"For the last time, I'm _not_ hitting on Keiichi-kun!" protested Ansuz, and then leaned closer to her daughter who not only didn't seem intimidated by her, but copied her mother's actions, causing them to end up staring at each other with their foreheads mere inches apart. "You just need to grow up and stop trying to use such immature methods to cause some unnecessary drama!"

" _Me?_ You're the one who caused some drama a couple of minutes ago!" said Skuld with a disgruntled huff, pausing for a moment to toss her long dark hair over her shoulders. "Oh, and I'm way more mature than you are at the moment! And you even admitted that, not long ago!"

"Um… excuse me, but… is this something you should be doing right now?" Making a desperate attempt to put an end to this pointless argument, despite the obvious hazards of such a decision, Keiichi felt that there was something significantly more important to do with their spare time.

"Ah, my apologies… I suppose that we got a bit carried away," said Ansuz, trying to regain her composure and hopefully salvage the situation before the damage was irreversible. "This whole mess had taken its toll on everyone, and as you can see… we're kind of looking for an excuse to blow out at the first given opportunity."

"Well… I can't say that I blame you," said Keiichi as diplomatically as he could muster, avoiding to pick either goddess' side and end up turning this into a much more serious argument. "It's hard to imagine what those two and a half years must've been for you and your family."

"Well… nothing good, that's for sure," replied Ansuz in much lower tone, causing her daughter to avert her gaze and stare at the wall instead. "There are no words to describe how powerless you can feel when despite your physical and even magical night… you're still incapable of doing something about it. Although that's about to change, and soon. That's why I came here to see how Skuld was holding up, and while at it, also meet you, Keiichi-kun. It's so rare for Belldandy to even express interest in anyone, that I just had to take a closer look at you. After all, every mother wants to have some grandchildren to spoil, and with that one," said Ansuz gesturing towards Skuld's direction, "being such a tsundere, and Belldandy a borderline asexual… well… you can imagine how frustrated I've gotten."

" _Hey, who's a tsundere?_ " protested Skuld, only for her plea to be ignored.

"At any rate, that's not what really matters at the time being," continued Ansuz, making no comments about her daughter's protests. "What's important is to make sure that you're taking care of yourselves properly, and I'm quite pleased to see that this is indeed the case. Still, I think that it's for the best if I stay here for the night, just in case anything happens."

"Mother!..." started Skuld, but the teal haired goddess cut her off immediately.

"I didn't mean you, dear. There's currently a major upheaval in Niflheim, and depending on the result we might either gain a powerful ally, or expect a violent reaction. And if it comes to be the latter, it's better if I'm here to make sure that nothing bad happens to either of you."

Exchanging a look, Keiichi and Skuld reluctantly offered a nod, since neither of them wanted to deal with a horde of demons coming after them, should they decided to stop messing around with this whole idol band thingamajig and send their military after them.

"Alright mom, I guess you'll have to stay here. Although you'll have to share a bed with me, since there's not all that much space for another bed. Even back when I used to share one with Urd," said Skuld, making a face at the mention of her eldest sister, albeit in a rather playful manner. "After all, she always got the biggest of the two beds."

"As much as I'd love to do that, I think it's for the best if I stand on guard," said Ansuz with a sake of her head. "After all, even if they don't come here, I might as well need to offer some back up for Tyr who's-"

" _Say Wha~at?… DAD got out of his OFFICE?! How did THAT happen?!_ "

The sheer shock in Skuld's voice, along with the complete and utter lack of any sarcasm made Ansuz wince, since it meant that her daughter was actually serious rather than throwing barbs about her father's workaholic personality. "Actually… he's possessing an Earth Spirit in order to infiltrate the place where Belldandy and Peorth are being held. However, that simply denies him most of his strength, which is why I need to give him a hand if it comes down to that."

Breathing out a sigh of relief he didn't even knew he was holding, Keiichi decided to break the silence now that the situation had somewhat stabilized. "Oh, thank goodness. It's such a relief to know that they've got someone watching their backs. Although… what's that upheaval in Niflheim you've mentioned before?"

"Oh, that's rather simple," said with a smile that could only be described as proud. "Urd-chan was promoted to the position of the Daimakaicho's deputy. Which effectively makes her the second highest ranking demoness in all the demonic realms, as well as the regional commander of Niflheim, under the direct supervision of the Daimakaicho. Ah… if only Hild could see her daughter right now. She would've been so proud!"

"Whoa, whoa… wait a freaking moment! You can't be serious! I mean… Hagall promoted Urd? Why?" asked the stunned Norn of the future, causing her mother to nervously scratch her head as she wasn't particularly looking forward for this particular explanation.

"Let's just say that… someone ticked her off to the point where she curb stomped him, and quite effectively took his job." Of course she knew more about the incident, but Ansuz was quite reluctant to share those details with her youngest. "But we can discuss this later. For now, I think that a nice, homemade dinner would be more than a welcome change from the microwave meals you two are having. Oh, and Skuld?"

"Yes, mom?"

"Come and give me a hand. It's about time I give you a crash course on cooking."

XXX

 _Low Levels, Niflheim_

Looking around the almost emptied room she used to occupy for the last two and a half years left Urd with an undecipherable emotion. On one hand she was more than happy to leave this place, but on the other… she had built this whole casino from the ground up, and leaving it behind felt almost hard for her to do. At least with Fehu being appointed as the new owner, Urd was somewhat reassured that her employees would still have a nice place to work, and not end up in one of those dreadful places where some of them would be nothing more than a showpiece. Regardless of those being demonesses or not, the Norn of the past believed that she held some responsibility towards those who willingly put themselves under her service, and for someone who used to live such a carefree and relaxed lifestyle, this sudden change was something totally new that she had to adjust to it.

Truth to be told though, none of this was part of the plan. Even Fehu with all her experience in demonic politics couldn't predict just how far Sokkmimir was willing to push things, and Urd's response was equally drastic, leaving no other option but for things to take their course. As the humans said… the die was cast.

Still, the discussion she had with Hagall was both an enlightening and disturbing one at the same time, that convinced the half demoness that the overall situation was far more complicated than she had originally anticipated. More specifically, her assumption that releasing her mother would resolve all her problems… turned out to be nothing more than a flight of fancy. If nothing else, if she were to do that, she might as well condemn her mother to certain death, as well as whoever turned out to be Hild's doublet. And while she had no way to know who that person was, Urd had a nagging suspicion that it was either her father or her stepmother, which… would definitely impact not only her but her sisters too.

Needless to say, Urd had her hands full with not only finding a workaround that particular problem, but also to do a better job than her predecessor. After all, if she turned out to do an even worse job than someone to the likes of Sokkmimir, then chances were that she'd be removed from office even faster than him. At least right now, the family resemblance brought back memories of Hild's administration to the majority that still thought her mother in a positive light, but that was far from a permanent solution. As soon as she started to actually manage Niflheim, such a superficial thing would be all but forgotten and everyone -whether ally or not- was going to judge her based on her decisions rather than her appearance.

"What's the holdup? Have you forgotten something?"

Looking over her shoulder, Urd found Lind standing by the door frame, clad in her new combat uniform; this time a military one. The former Valkyrie certainly didn't look comfortable wearing the primarily red and black uniform the armed forces of Niflheim used, since a civilian class armor was out of question for the regional commander's personal bodyguard. "No, I was just… looking at this place. Hopefully for the last time. Heh… it's kind of strange, but I think that part of me might even miss it."

"Can't say that I share the sentiment, but at least I understand what you're trying to say." There was tension clearly evident in her voice, and her body language spoke volumes of how uncomfortable Lind was at the moment, given how much this uniform reminded her of their predicament. She was even given a special permit that allowed her to be accounted as part of Niflheim's army; and while necessary for her to be able to follow Urd wherever she went, it made matters ever worse for the former Valkyrie.

"I know… and I'm sorry for dragging you into this," said Urd with a heavy sigh as she turned around and approached Lind. "None of this was part of the original plan, but… that idiot didn't give me much of an option. I wasn't even expecting him to try and talk to me, rather than letting me meet Hagall."

"Speaking from personal experience, there is no such thing as foolproof plan, especially when… fools are involved," said Lind in a poor attempt to lighten up the mood, as she realized that Urd was clearly aware of her discomfort. "And part of my duties is to take care of you, so I'd rather wear this… thing, rather than have you bend over someone's desk every now and then. Although, speaking of that moron… what are you going to do to him? From what I understand, his fate now lies in your hands."

"Truth to be told, I'm not sure. As much as I'd like to simply disembody or reincarnate him in a lower lifeform, I'm not certain what's the best option. Or rather… I don't know what the rest of my… subordinates think I should do in a situation like this, so I'll keep him under house arrest while I'll find out what's the best way to handle this. After all, I don't think he's in any shape or form to even walk out of his home; not with half his skin burned to a crisp."

"If you want a recommendation, you can always ship him to one of the other realms, and let their commanders do the dirty work for you. Jotunheim might be the best option, as it's the base of operation for the Intelligence Sector and they know how to make people disappear without leaving a trace."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Urd with a slight wince, as Lind's honesty in this particular topic made her realize for the first time that this was the former Valkyrie's line of work. "Actually, I'm about to meet them in less than half an hour, since Hagall wishes to introduce me to her Inner Circle."

"Understood. Should we head there, then? It's not that far away from here, but we still need to get in time for your first official appearance as the Daimakaicho's deputy."

"Yes, I think you're right. Just give me five minutes to say a few things to Fehu and then we're leaving." Heading towards the latter's room, Urd paused just as she was about to pass Lind who remained in place and offered her a look. "Still… I can arrange for you to stay here if you want. You don't need to do this if you're comfortable with it."

"No. So far in my life I haven't abandoned any of my comrades, regardless of the situation," said Lind with a shake of her head. "We came here together and we're leaving together, one way or another. Nothing more, nothing less."

The Norn remained silent for quite some time, trying to come up with a fitting response, but failed to do so. Instead, she pulled the blue haired warrior in a hug and simply held her like that, despite how uncomfortable and embarrassed Lind turned out to be from such a gesture.

However, several seconds later, and with Urd still holding her tightly, Lind reached around and ever so awkwardly pat the Norn's back.

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

And so the situation had changed dramatically. That whole scene with Urd and Sokkmimir proved to be much more of a challenge, as I'm not terribly comfortable with such topics (at least as far as my stories are concerned) and it took me some time to come up with a somewhat acceptable solution. At least I hope that this way it still serves its purpose, as it allowed Urd's promotion, while avoiding the story to delve into certain themes, just for the sake of making some drama out of it.

Still, that being said, it's not exactly the end just yet. While Urd's assignment as Hagall's deputy will also allow Belldandy and Keiichi to get closer, as the pressure on her and Peorth will somewhat wane, there are still a few things before the four of them are allowed to go back to their old lives for good.


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

 _Niflheim_

It was often said that a journey starts with a single step, yet the biggest question for the Norn of the past was when exactly did she veer off track, and to such a dramatic degree as well. What started as a simple mission to restore her mother back in power, ended up in two and a half years long ordeal that eventually lead her to this very moment; her inauguration as the Daimakaicho's deputy.

Walking right behind the very person who was responsible for her and the others' troubles, Urd felt more torn than ever about her opinion of the demoness that caused all this mess just for the sake of saving one life. And the mere fact the this was none other than her own mother's life, annoyed Urd to no end, as it almost felt that this… replacement of hers almost loved Hild more than she did.

Not that she ever acted in a way to let others know that she still loved her mother, and perhaps even ran away from that reality herself, yet now that Hild was locked away Urd found herself in the bizarre situation of missing her terribly. It was one of those ironic cases where one would take another for granted, only to realize how much they meant for them once they were gone. And the idea that someone else… someone unrelated to Hild loved her more than Urd herself, made her seethe in rage. At least as far as her demonic side was concerned, since her goddess part almost felt ashamed at how lonely Hild must've felt after her departure. To the point where she essentially took in an orphan as a replacement for her dear daughter. All while Urd was happily going about her life, pretending that she didn't know any demoness by the name Hild, as if loving her would've magically turn her into a puppy murdering monster or something of that effect.

Past decisions aside, what mostly troubled Urd was the sheer pointlessness of her so called rescue mission, considering that she jumped into this whole mess of a situation without the slightest understanding of what was really going on in the first place. Had she known that releasing her mother could potentially kill her, as a result of some ancient law, Urd would've never attempted to come all the way here, and once Hagall learned how to manage Niflheim in Hild's absence, things would go back to normal. There was absolutely no reason for her to drag Belldandy and the others in this bloody mess, only to realize -some two and a half years later- that she should've done her homework before trying to be the hero, and 'save' the day all on her own.

What bothered her the most though was was going to be the others' reaction to such a revelation. She hadn't even told Lind all the details of her discussion with Hagall, and that made Urd rather nervous. The others were still blissfully unaware that releasing Hild wasn't actually their ticket home, and even Lind, who actually lived together with her, was probably thinking that the Norn's rise to power was a means to that end. That by getting closer to the Daimakaicho, they would eventually manage to gain access to Hild's containment cell and release her. At which point they'd be allowed to revert back to goddesses and head home; where they truly belonged.

'Come to think of it… what should I even do with Bell and Peorth? Technically speaking, I'm their boss right now, so I should have the authority to reassign them to another task, and simply send two other demonesses to take their jobs on Earth. As long as their replacements are attractive enough, I doubt that humans will much of a problem to adjust to them.'

Such were Urd's thoughts when she finally arrived at the Daimakaicho's domain, and although she knew from beforehand that her reception would be more than enthusiastic, given that the rest of the regional commanders were supporters of her mother's, Urd felt absolutely terrified. Without knowing how long it was going to take her to come up with a solution on how to fix this mess, the half demoness feared that she was getting drawn into a new life, and one that wasn't necessarily worse than her old one. At least as far as her acceptance by others was concerned, and whether she'd like to go back at being Heaven's black sheep.

'Calm yourself down, you can do this.' Pausing for a moment to look over her shoulder at Lind, who accompanied her along with her personal _bodyguards_ , rather than just her old guards, Urd watched the former Valkyrie nod at her, and slowly returning the gesture, she turned and walked past the grand doors of the Daimakaicho's throne room.

'Well… here goes nothing.'

XXX

 _Earth_

Stirring lazily on his bed -or rather the convertible couch- Keiichi still tried to adjust to his new living environment, as the sheer lack of space meant that he had to sleep in the living room that also housed the kitchenette area. Of course, things could've been worse, way worse, if he was left with no other option but to sleep on the streets like a homeless, so in the end he was more than appreciative of Skuld's efforts to find him a suitable housing; albeit a temporary one like this.

Yet despite the uneasiness of his current predicament, Keiichi had to admit that it's been years since he got such a good night's sleep. After all, not having to wake up at an ungodly hour just to get to work in time was a massive bonus, and Ansuz's arrival did wonders for his otherwise shaken morale. From what Skuld told him about her mother, Ansuz was one of the most powerful -if not _the_ most powerful- goddess currently in existence, making him feel much safer in her presence. And unlike Skuld who was only capable of sustaining her adult form for a couple of hours at a time, and even then without access to her full magical potential, the elder goddess was powerful enough that her reputation alone should keep the demons at bay, and prevent any further attacks for the time being.

Furthermore, the area they've chosen to set camp was a serene lakeside resort, far from the bustling city streets, and the poorly soundproofed buildings he had to live in; all while surrounded by goddamned college students who were apparently incapable of going to sleep before it was three o'clock in the morning or something. With that no longer an issue though, along with him being allowed to sleep in, Keiichi felt totally rejuvenated, and even spent some extra time in his bed listening in to the birds' chirping from outside.

Although for some reason, there was one particularly loud and probably big bird, judging by the sound of it, that kept chirping in something akin of a pop song; which didn't quite sound as remotely natural in his opinion. Not only that, but given how loud and clear the sound was, Keiichi reckoned that it wasn't actually coming from outside the RV, but rather from inside, and pretty close to him too. That along with the sweet smell of breakfast eventually roused the mortal from his slumber, and straight into the harsh… yet bizarre reality. After all, seeing a goddess chirp a song while cooking breakfast classified as one of _those moments_ that slowly altered his definition of normalcy with things as outlandish as this.

'Uh… I thought that those winglets on her head were… decorations or… something?' Rubbing his eyes as he slowly got up from his bed, Keiichi verified that Ansuz's four winglets moved in rhythm to her chirping -which by itself was noteworthy enough- and even flapped excitedly whenever the goddess took a sniff of the delectable pancakes she was cooking on the pan.

"Hm? Oh, so you finally decided to wake up, sleepyhead?" asked the teal haired goddess when she heard the ruffling sound of the bedsheets as Keiichi roused, and then turned to glance at him. "I was starting to worry, you know. No matter how much noise I've made, you didn't seem to react to it at all! Then again, Skuld's also sound asleep, so I guess you were both exhausted from all that nonsense you've been through as of late."

"Ah… yes, I'm sorry, I guess I've overslept," said Keiichi, scratching the back of of his head awkwardly. He was still finding it hard to adjust to the idea that the goddess before him was actually Belldandy's mother, and not to mention that she seemed rather acceptive of him. As a young man without a secured job to ensure him a steady source of income, Keiichi had no delusions that most prospective in-laws here in Japan would've been anything but supportive of their daughter's decision to go out with a man who solely relied on part time jobs to make a living for himself; let alone support a family. With such expectations in mind, Keiichi was genuinely surprised to find _a goddess_ of all things being friendly towards a lowly mortal who dared capture her daughter's heart. 'Come to think of it… What is a mortal boyfriend to a goddess? Would Belldandy even like me once I start to get older? She's an immortal, so she ought to remain young and beautiful, while I'll turn into an old man, and… that would look strange, right? Am I just a temporary thing then? A passing fancy?'

"It's too early for troublesome thoughts, Keiichi. Just grab a plate and I'll serve you some delectable pancakes. You need more food and less drama in your life, or your health will take a turn for the worse," said Ansuz much to Keiichi's surprise. "Oh, and by the way… I _can_ read thoughts, although I'm not generally doing that unless it's absolutely necessary. Still, I can sense emotions, and you're a particularly easy person to read, Keiichi. But I guess that also means that you're an honest one as well."

"Morning everyone." Sounding a lot more cheerful than yesterday, Skuld entered the living room with a smile on her face, that only became bigger as she got a glimpse of her mother's maple syrup pancakes. "Oh, it's been so long since you've made those for me and… well… the others."

Interrupting her daughter before she too ended up getting all gloomy as well, Ansuz clapped her hands and pointed at one of the empty places she earlier left on the table. "Okay, that's enough, young lady! Grab a plate and come get your fresh pancakes! Although… Skuld dear… dare I ask what in Asgard's name you think you're wearing?"

" _Hmph muoh duph?_ "

"Don't speak with your mouth full, and… don't just grab the pancakes with a fork! Put them on a plate before you get maple syrup everywhere!" Pushing a plate in her daughter's hands, Ansuz couldn't help but shake her head at the childish enthusiasm Skuld was displaying at the moment. But then again, she couldn't quite remember when was the last time she did this with her daughters, so, Skuld's enthusiasm might had something to do with that, rather than hunger. 'I can't believe that I only started looking after her during the last two and a half years. It's sad to think about it, but they never really had a mother… at least not one who didn't prioritize her job over them. And letting Belldandy raise her was too much of a convenient excuse for me, even though the poor dear meant well. Being a supportive sister and effectively her… surrogate mother are two totally different things.'

Chewing down her food, Skuld accepted the plate and the additional couple of pancakes, watching her mother hand a few to Keiichi as well, and taking this momentary distraction, Skuld checked her current attire. She knew that her mother had a tendency to be quite overprotective as of late, but this was getting pretty ridiculous, given that there was nothing wrong with the lovely red dress she picked for the upcoming visit to Megumi's apartment. 'I don't get it… What's her problem? It's not too short, nor it shows too much cleavage. And it's fairly loose fitting, so it's not like as if I'm trying to show off or something. Okay… maybe my sleeves are see through, but… for Asgard's sake, it's just the _sleeves!_ I could wear sleeveless clothes even as kid, so what's so different _now?_ '

Almost as if sensing her daughter's question -or rather simply following her gaze- Ansuz turned back to Skuld now that she offered Keiichi his breakfast, and considering that her daughter still had a lot of trouble to understand just what was amiss, she walked up to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Skuld dear… as much as I like how you look in red, I must point out that this _isn't_ a dress, but _a babydoll_."

"Wait… what?" asked the stunned Skuld, staring down at herself in utter disbelief. "No, it's not! It certainly looks like a dress to me!"

"Appearances can be deceiving, Skuld," said Ansuz in a rather pointed manner, even going as far as to tap her daughter's nose. "Just in the same sense that you're not an adult; not yet at least. Although, I can't blame you for making such an error. Even Peorth once mistook her nightclothes for her daily ones, and showed up at work in black cottons."

"Whoa! Seriously? _Peorth_ wears _cottons?_ " laughed Skuld, trying not to drop her pancakes as she visibly shook from the revelation.

"I know, right? Easiest bet I've ever won!"

"Oh, you set up a bet? With whom?"

"Urd of course! She thought that Peorth slept au naturale."

Watching this rather bizarre exchange between mother and daughter from the sidelines, Keiichi had to admit that the silliness of it all, brought a smile on his face. No matter how insignificant the subject of their discussion currently was, it still proved to be a nice distraction from everything troublesome that was going on at the moment. After all, even the toughest person in world needed a chance to unwind, and that went twice for someone Skuld's actual age. The young goddess must've been going through some hard times -as shown by her violent outburst that sent Aoshima to the hospital- and as such it was important for her to relax a bit, before all that pressure crushed her. 'Come to think of it… shouldn't I do the same? I keep worrying so much about every little thing that I'll end up getting hospitalized myself.'

Chuckling to himself, Keiichi reached the cupboard and prepared to brew some coffee for him. It was one of his morning habits, as caffeine often proved to be the only thing to keep his eyes peeled when working so hard and in more than one cases, with little amount of sleep too. And while he was more than rested at the moment, Keiichi still felt that following that part of his daily routine would offer him some peace of mind. 'Come to think of it, does coffee has the same effect on goddesses? What about food in general?'

Keeping an attentive eye at them while waiting for the coffee maker to finish brewing, Keiichi noticed that no matter how alien the goddesses seemed to be, they were still capable of acting in a way he found relatable. After all, they did strongly remind him of Takano and Megumi, since those two weren't exactly the most stereotypical example of a mother and daughter duo. 'I wonder… is this how Belldandy interacts with them too? She felt a bit distant and formal at times, but then again I never got to stay around her for too long, and besides, she's under a lot of stress too. Which reminds me…'

Taking a moment to retrieve an extra pair of coffee mugs from the cupboard, Keiichi held them carefully with one hand and then picked the glass carafe containing the coffee he just brewed, and then finally approached them with a relaxed smile on his face. "I don't know if you're familiar with this beverage, but would you like to try some coffee?" Keiichi's rather innocent question earned him the most baffled expressions he had ever the chance of witnessing, and for a couple of awkward seconds, the mortal had no idea if he had inadvertently offended them in some way. "Uh… did I say something weird?"

"You bet you did, dummy! Who doesn't know about coffee? You think we're living under a rock or something?" laughed Skuld, earning a jab to the ribs from her mother.

"Now, now don't be so rude, Skuld. There's no way for Keiichi-kun to be sure about what we're familiar with and what not." Turning to the mortal in question, Ansuz accepted one of coffee mugs and handed the other to her daughter. And then she more or less grabbed the carafe from Keiichi's hands and filled her own coffee mug to the brim, before she passed it to Skuld who muttered something about greediness under her breath. Still, ignoring her, Ansuz turned her attention back to Keiichi who like before simply observed their interactions in silence. "You shouldn't be surprised, Keiichi-kun. We've been watching your kind ever since you've gained conscience and we know a great deal about your habits and culture. It's just that most of us don't have the luxury to do that on a day to day basis, so we might be slightly out of touch with the latest trends."

"Oh, I see…" replied Keiichi, but before he had the chance to say anything more, a knock on the door caught him by surprise. And judging by the looks he got from the others, they were equally baffled by the fact that they had a visitor this early on; or at all for that matter. "Uh… are we expecting anyone else?"

"Not as far I know," said Ansuz with a shake of her head, glancing over to her daughter who mirrored the gesture and then headed to answer the door.

"Okay, okay!... We heard you already!" said Skuld as she marched to the RV's main door and opened it, only to freeze on the spot when she came face to face with a rather familiar looking woman; one whose face she had seen several times in Keiichi's profile. "Uh… can I… help you?"

For a moment, the short haired brunette worried that she was a victim of a prank, and that fortune teller was complete fraud; despite all the things she got right about her. "Oh, sorry! I thought that this is where my… I mean…"

" _Megumi?!_ " came the shocked response from behind Skuld, when Keiichi instantly recognized their visitor's voice, and he rushed to greet his sister. "It is you! I was so worried!"

"You were _what?_ That's _my_ line, Kei-chan! The police are looking for you, and the whole thing is all over the local news!" said Megumi, her voice becoming louder as she went on. "Just what happened back then? And… who _is_ she anyway?" added the almost hysterical mortal, jerking a thumb in Skuld's direction, who was by now standing next to Keiichi. "I never heard you had a… lady friend. Not that I object, with you being this shy, but… isn't this a bit too soon before you started sleeping with her?"

" _Excuse me?!_ " shouted the offended Norn of the future, just as her mother almost choked on her coffee, as even she didn't expect this kind of development. "What makes you think that I'm fu-... I mean… doing it with your brother?"

"Well, for starters you're apparently sleeping under the same roof, and besides… you're in a babydoll," said Megumi a bit defensively when she noticed the vicious look on Skuld's eyes. "I mean, you don't normally wear this in front a man you haven't… well… you know."

The dark haired goddess was stunned by the implied accusation, and not to mention the assumption that she was wearing a nightdress. And as if that wasn't enough, Ansuz chose that moment to remind her daughter that Megumi wasn't the only one to assume that.

"Told you!" quipped Ansuz while refilling her coffee mug.

"You're not helping, mom!" snapped Skuld back at her, causing Megumi to become interested at the third person in the RV.

"Wait… there's _another_ one in there?" Trying to look past Skuld, the younger Morisato spot Ansuz waving back at her, which unsurprisingly caused her eyes to wide. It was one thing to catch her brother with a woman, but… two at the same time was simply impossible. "Alright, I think you need to start talking, Kei-chan. Just what in the world is going on here?"

"You know, I think you're right, Megumi," said Keiichi with a heavy sigh, stepping aside to let his sister in. "I need to explain things to you, but first, how about you come inside and have some breakfast? It must've been a long ride from Nekomi all the way here."

"Okay, I'll take up that offer," said Megumi as she entered the RV, but then tried to somewhat lighten the mood. It was fairly obvious to her that her brother was getting more stressed by each passing second, and as much as she wanted to get all the details out of him, Megumi wasn't totally heartless. "Just remember that I'm not easily bribed with food, Kei-chan."

"Dunno about that, Megumi. You sure eat a lot for a woman your size."

"Oh, shuddup!"

XXX

 _Niflheim_

For the first time in her entire life, Urd genuinely felt butterflies in her stomach; little, disgustingly cute and fuzzy butterflies that puked tiny rainbows, causing her a tremendous amount of discomfort. Of course such wasn't really the case, as the half demoness was physically fine, yet the nervousness of facing her most likely allies was too much for her to bear.

She was already aware that all three of her fellow regional commanders were allies of her mother, yet that didn't automatically made them her allies as well. Worse yet, centuries old insecurities of not being a pureblood resurfaced, causing Urd to question whether any of them would actually wish to offer their assistance to a half _goddess_.

The sound of the chamber's doors opening, caused her and the others to shoot up from their seats, as the Daimakaicho was about to enter her throne room, and for the first time since Hagall's rise to power, all her subordinates were physically present. Although the restrictions of cross realm traveling were still in place, the Daimakaicho had agreed to make some concessions, at least to allow diplomatic delegations to enter Niflheim, which wasn't quite what her subordinates wanted yet it was generally accepted as a move in the right direction.

Waiting for Hagall to reach the throne and take a seat upon it, the rest of her Inner Circle members followed suit and then opened their dossiers, signifying the beginning of this emergency meeting.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm pleased to see you all here and in such a short notice as well," said Hagall as she scanned the room with her eyes, and much to her satisfaction this time around there was far less tension in the air. Apparently, Urd's assignment as her deputy was well received by the others, who openly displayed their disdain at Sokkmimir's promotion to that same office. "As you must've already heard, our dear… friend, Sokkmimir caused a bit of an incident to the likes of which I'd rather not bring to your attention, even though I'm fairly sure that most of you already know the details. Regardless, such a behavior is totally unaccepted by a demon of his standing, which prompted me to find a _worthy_ replacement for him."

Taking that as her cue, Urd got up from her chair and clenched her hands so hard that they became white, until she finally relaxed and tried to recollect herself. "I have to admit that at no point I've ever seen myself standing here, amongst you, so you'll have to excuse me for not preparing a grand speech about myself, and why I'm going to do a great job as… Hagall-sama's deputy. Well, I can already say that I won't do a worse job than my illustrious predecessor; not that I think I can anyways. As to who I am… I believe that introductions are unnecessary, since I've been told that you've all attended my first birthday. So, here I am, the same ol' brat, just a couple of centuries later."

Blinking hard, Hagall wasn't expecting _that_ kind of introduction from Urd, and while she wanted to remind her that making light of the situation wasn't fitting for her deputy, one of her subordinates beat her to it; although not in the fashion she would've preferred.

"You're quite correct, Urd-chan," said Grid, catching everyone's attention to her. "Last time we met, you were just an adorable toddler that happily drooled over her birthday cake. You've grown up to become a fine young lady, if I can say so for myself. I'm fairly sure that you mother is proud of you."

"Dunno about the adorable part… I personally like my cake without drool on it," muttered Surt from his seat across the lady of Svartalfheim, earning himself a glare from her.

"I'll… keep that in mind for next time," said Urd in a slightly sarcastic tone, wondering if this was like to have an older sibling, given the somewhat familiar feeling of relieving one of her arguments with Skuld. 'Good Heavens it's so good I don't have an older sibling. Although I need to give the squirt some credit for dealing with me for so long.'

" _Enough!_ " commanded Hagall, getting up from her throne to restore order, before this meeting turned into a circus. "We're here to discuss the inauguration of our new commander of Niflheim, not our personal preferences about how cakes should be served."

"In that case, can we please move on with our agenda now that the pleasantries are over," said Skrymir with a roll of his eyes, not particularly fond of this kind of nonsense.

"That we will," quipped Hagall before turning to her newly appointed deputy. "And to start with today's agenda, I have a bit of a task for you. Since we're about to remove your sister's guards from the scene, just in case some of them are still loyal to Sokkmimir and try to extract revenge for his removal from power, I need you to pick their replacements. And the sooner, the better, too."

"Wait!... _Me?_ " asked Urd, pointing at herself in wonder, only for Hagall to narrow her eyes at her.

"Who else? _Me?_ I have more important things to do than pick a few bodyguards," said Hagall with a dismissive shake of her hand. "Besides, even if I did that, you'd definitely want to take a look on the matter, and what's better than letting you handle the entire thing on your own?"

"That's right, kid," added the ruler of Muspelheim earning a positively dirty look from Urd. "Overseeing this job should be a child's play. I mean… there's no way you can mess something as simple as accompanying a bunch of guards to Midgard."

' _I'm not a kid!..._ Wait…hold on a sec!…' Trying not to react to the same old bait she successfully used countless of times on her sister, Urd suddenly realized that the whole idea of supervising this operation also meant that for the first time in the last couple of years, she'd get an opportunity to meet her sisters. After all, even Skuld was there, and all she needed to do was to track her down and then pay her a visit. "Actually, that would be a really nice idea! I'd love to take a close look on this whole… operation of ours and evaluate just how profitable it is."

As much as Hagall wished to deny such request on the spot, she felt that by doing so it would only prove that she had little confidence in the person she personally assigned as her second in command. And with Urd's predecessor being a total failure, the last thing Hagall needed was indirectly admit in front of her direct subordinates that she's utterly incapable of picking someone skilled enough for the job. After all, if the Daimakaicho couldn't do something as simple as evaluating just one person's skills, then it would've been doubtful that she'd be able to do the same for the rest of her administration. "In that case, I believe that I can leave that task to you. Just make sure not to go overboard and either provoke the celestials, or reveal our existence to the mortals. As long as these criteria are met, you've got free reign in choosing whoever demon you wish to work with your sister and Peorth."

The Daimakaicho's response caught Urd slightly by surprise, as she was honestly expecting much more resistance from her, but the half demoness wasn't going to look at a gift horse in the mouth. If Hagall allowed her -even with some stipulations- to transfer to Midgard, then she would definitely going to make the best of such an opportunity. "It will be done, Hagall-sama. I assume it's alright to leave as soon as possible?"

"Yes, you may depart once we're done with this meeting," said the Daimakaicho with a slow nod, keeping her tone level to hide her own nervousness from such a proposition. There were far too many things that could go wrong here, but at the same time, trusting Urd was a necessity if they were to work together. "Now, there are still a few more things we need to discuss in this meeting; starting with our annual budget..."

XXX

 _Earth_

"You know, as much as I understand your skepticism… can you please _stop poking my winglets?_ Not only they're real, but pretty sensitive too!" Shooting the woman across the table a rather pointed glare, Ansuz was about to swat her hand, should the curious mortal failed to get the hint and stop annoying her.

"Okay, okay!... I got it!" Withdrawing her hand as if it caught on fire, Megumi was starting to understand why her brother was reluctant to tell her about these… goddesses. Despite their explanation as to what was going on, Megumi still found it utterly bizarre to even consider them as immortals, and more importantly, she was yet to be convinced that another one of them was fascinated by her brother. Turning to Skuld who had resumed her original humanoid form, the one that truly reflected her actual age, Megumi felt slightly better knowing that the person who got her brother involved in this mess wasn't a real adult. That way at least she had an excuse for acting in such an impulsive manner, even though she was still unconvinced whether it was a great idea to let the young goddess carry an entire arsenal of weapons on her person. "You're Skuld, right?"

"Huh? Yeah, that's me," said the Norn of the future, as she looked up in surprise. She had already given Megumi her account of the events from the moment she came into contact with Keiichi up to this point, and with her mother providing most of the details about the four captive goddesses' predicament, Skuld was expecting for the mortal to ask Keiichi's version of the story as well.

"Can I have a few words with you?" asked Megumi with a smile, trying to avoid sounding too threatening. "Privately, if that's possible."

Glancing over at Ansuz who gave her a slight nod, Skuld then turned back to Megumi and did her best to return her smile, even though it looked kind of forced. "Yeah, that's cool. We can talk by the lake's shore, if that works with you."

"Sure thing, Skuld! I'm going over there," said Megumi, throwing a thumb in the lake's direction. "Just drop by whenever you're ready, okay?"

Watching his sister walk out of the RV, Keiichi had to admit that even he was slightly puzzled by her behavior, and judging by the looks he was getting, he was not alone. The two goddesses were probably waiting for his opinion as to what Megumi wanted from Skuld; at least aside from scolding her for getting him involved in this whole mess. "I… don't think she wants to pick a fight with you, Skuld. That's just not Megumi's style, even though she can be quite mischievous at times."

"Okay, I'll go and see what this is all about." Heading for the door, the Norn paused for a moment to switch to her adult mode, thinking that it was fitting for her to confront Megumi as equals, instead of being the immature kid who's in for a scolding. Truth to be told, despite Keiichi's reassurance that this didn't seem to be the case, Skuld was still skeptical as to the brunette's true intentions, especially given that she wanted them to be alone. Some people just didn't want to show certain aspects of themselves in front of close friends and family, yet that doesn't necessarily mean that the same was true when they were alone with strangers.

Noticing the Norn's approach, Megumi let out a whistle as she still found it hard to believe how easily Skuld could change her appearance. "Hey, that wrist watch is definitely sweet! If it could change your cup size too, then it would be perfect!" As much of a crude joke that happened to be, Megumi felt slightly relieved to see Skuld blink back at her, and then reach into her pant's pockets, considering that she switched to something far more casual than the babydoll she was wearing earlier.

"I can't do that with my Time Accelerator, but…" said Skuld, lowering her voice as she retrieved a small remote control from her pocket and conspicuously leaned towards Megumi. "If you promise not to say a word to my mom, and Keiichi… we can start talking cup sizes."

"Whoa! I was just joking, you know! But… can you really do it?"

"Yes, but not permanently. Whenever body modifications are concerned, I tend to avoid anything that cannot be reversed, since it can lead to some… undesired side effects," admitted Skuld, and then pocketed her device. "But I doubt that's what you had in mind when you asked for a private conversation, so, how about cut to the chase?"

"Alright… I suppose that's fair," said Megumi with a slow nod, clearing her throat as she regained her composure. "Look, I must admit that I was more than ready to give you a piece of my mind for getting Kei-chan involved in all this, but… it seems that this situation is way more complicated than I would've ever dreamt of. And to be honest with you, I can't say that I ever liked that Aoshima creep all that much, either. He always struck me as a scumbag with good reputation, so it was about time someone did something about it."

"Yeah… I know that I should've handled it differently, but I kind of lost it back then," said Skuld with a heavy sigh. "My sisters are stuck in a difficult situation, and that creep only cared about his… you know what. Hell, even demons aren't _that_ bad!"

"Never met a demon -not yet anyway- but I can imagine," said Megumi with a mirthless chuckle. "Anyway… your mother mentioned something about Belldandy being interested in my brother, and that's why I wanted your opinion on this. After all, you should know her better than anyone here, so, is this just a fling or she's actually serious about him?" Instead of a straight answer, Skuld's laughter caught Megumi off guard as she hadn't expected that kind of response from her, although for those familiar with the middle Norn, such a reaction was fully justified.

"A _fling?_ Oh, no… not in a million years! That's not my sister's style at all! Well… not Belldandy's style, because Urd is a totally different subject altogether," said Skuld as she slowly regained her composure. "As far as I know, Belldandy never showed any signs that she wanted to become close to anyone; at least not in a romantically. Sure, she was the sweetest goddess you can imagine, which still stands despite her current nature, yet at no point did she attempt to flirt with anyone. Even more, several tried to get her attention like that, but all they've ever accomplished was to get frustrated by her total lack of interest for a romantic relationship, which made some to seriously consider her as totally asexual. So, if she shows signs that she likes Keiichi, than it's definitely serious!"

"Wow… that's quite something then! Still, do you think that Kei-chan's got a chance with your sister?" asked Megumi, still finding it hard that a celebrity, and not to mention an immortal one of that, would fall in love with her brother. Not because there was something wrong with him, but such things simply didn't happen in real life.

"Honestly?... Yes, I do," admitted Skuld, even though a tiny part of her rejected that idea. But, that was her old self talking, the same self centered spoiled brat who wanted to her sisters' full attention, considering that their parents were far too busy most of the time to do the same. "As long as they get a chance to get closer without others interfering as much as they currently do, I think that they'll make a good couple."

"Well, in that case then I'll leave him in your care," said Megumi after giving it some thought, and then offered Skuld a playful wink. "As a human, I doubt that I'll be much of a help, so make sure that those two will have a chance to get closer despite what else is going on right now."

"I'm on it. Oh and Megumi… thanks for not being mad at me."

"You're welcome!"

XXX

 _Low levels, Niflheim_

Although being tasked to take care of the casino in Urd's absence, that still didn't stop Fehu from carrying on with her own agenda. The auburn haired demoness had wasted no time to set up shop in Urd's old room, where she gathered all sorts of cryptanalysis equipment; half of which was totally illegal for civilians to get their hands on, let alone use. Thanks to her network of connections, Fehu had managed to collect pretty much all the stuff she needed in order to carry on with her plan, yet before she even started with it, there was one more thing that had to be taken care of.

Opening the CD tray of the portable sound system she had purchased just for this purpose, Fehu fiddled with the settings and cranked up the volume knob, before taking a couple of steps back and then waited with a grin plastered on her face. 'Now, let's see if this works as intended.'

The CD player's motor kicked in, spinning up the disc in order to read it, yet nothing more than ominous static sounds came from the speakers. A sound so eerie and downright disconcerting that would've been more than enough to strike fear to the hearts of mortals, but for Fehu, that was nothing more than the sound of a much delayed reunion; one she would've preferred to take place under far more favorable circumstances. Then again, few things in life went as planned, and this was no exception.

'Any time soon…' Taking another step back, Fehu made sure that she had indeed taken all precautions by placing the portable CD player a fair distance away from the more sensitive devices in this makeshift lab, and even erected a shield, just in case thing got out of hand.

Moments later, the whole CD was noticeably shaking in place, with the 'music' coming out of speakers becoming even more distorted, and the drive's unmistakable clicking sound acting as a warning that it was close to the point of catastrophic failure. Which came not a moment too late, when the whole player literally exploded in a cloud of dark smoke, sending plastic debris against Fehu's shield.

" _Mwa ha ha ha! I'm free! I'm frigging financially free! YES!_ " Hovering above the now ruined CD player was a blonde demoness, clad in a loose fitting, dark attire that did little to even hint at her gender. Still, fashion choices were far from from the first thing that came to the peeved demoness' mind, who stretched her limbs for the first time after her long slumber inside that CD. "Those blasted goddesses! It's all their fault I got blamed for that blunder!"

"That still doesn't explain why you made that blunder in the first place, Ma-chan."

"Yeah, but…" Realizing that in her excitement Mara had totally missed the demoness standing mere meters away from her, it actually took her a moment to register just who she was staring at, and the moment she did, the startled demoness almost fell on her back and tried to back off as far as she could. " _M-M-Mother?! It… It's s-so n-nice seeing y-you!_ "

"Your may say that, yet your actions speak otherwise, Ma-chan," said Fehu before she let out a sigh and did her best to relax. Like any other demonesses with an important enough job, Fehu's greatest desire was to see her daughter become at least as successful as she was, and considering that she was a single mother, this caused her to put even more pressure on her daughter's shoulders. Perhaps to the point where her clumsy girl was starting to become fearful to admit her failings at her, mostly to avoid getting scolded or even ridiculed for them. And while Fehu had maintained a firm stance so far, out of her desire to keep her daughter motivated, rather than allowing her to think that she'd be able to secure a good job all thanks to her mommy's connections, that was starting to take its toll in terms of their personal relationship. "Okay, that's enough… Just get up and come give your mom a big, warm hug!"

Instead of the intended result, all that Fehu managed to do was further confuse her poor daughter, who might've gotten up, yet remained firmly in place. "Okay… who are you, and what you've done to my mother?"

"Aw, shuddup, Ma-chan! I may be strict at times, but that doesn't mean I hate you, even if I occasionally scold you," said Fehu, trying her best to maintain her smile.

"Occasionally? More likely most of the time, if you ask me…" muttered Mara, only for eyes to widen when was pulled into a forceful hug, especially when her pissed off mother applied more than enough force to make her squirm.

"I can hear you perfectly, you know," said Fehu with a grin, eventually easing up her vice like grip around her daughter, who reluctantly returned the hug.

"So, anything interesting happened while I was sealed?"

"Hm… you do remember Urd-chan, right?" said Fehu with such an innocent tone that caused her daughter to roll her eyes.

"I've been sealed, not amnesiac… Still, what did she do now? Got her license suspended for the umpteenth time?"

Pausing for a while, just to pique her daughter's curiosity even more, Fehu eventually decided to drop the proverbial bomb. "She became Hagall-sama's second in command, after the latter rebelled against Hild-sama."

" _Whoa, whoa… one thing at a time! The Hell just happened?!_ "

XXX

 _Earth_

Sitting rather uncomfortably next to the current deputy of Niflheim, Kaun did his best to turn his attention away from her and back to his tablet, where the demon kept notes of today's agenda. In a rather unexpected turn of events that ended up with him being in a luxurious limo, together with two former goddesses. Of course that kind of description could hint to some rather tantalizing activities that would be better left for the realm of fantasies, and not just due to the fact that humoring such thoughts would not only get him into trouble with Peorth, but most certainly lead to his own demise. Especially when the former Valkyrie sitting across him on the limo's reversed seats, was giving him such a dirty glare that caused Kaun to fidget like a youngling facing a visit at the dentist's.

"Alright, that's enough Lind. Just give the guy a break, will you?" Casting a glance in her bodyguard's direction across the limo's interior, Urd tried to diffuse the situation before it escalated to the point where she'd have to find another demon to replace Welsper. After all, meeting Belldandy and Peorth was only part of the reason why she was here, with the main one being to find a suitable replacement for all the demons currently working on this ludicrous project. And there was no better candidate to leave in charge of this operation, than someone who's been actively helping them during those two and a half years; hence the reason why she reassigned him from his previous job to this little project.

"I'm not overreacting. It's merely my job to keep an eye out for potential problems, and the way he's staring at your admittedly… barely contained bust," said the blue haired warrior, clearing her throat as she finished her sentence. Both of the former goddesses were dressed in business outfits, since their normal choice of attires would've looked too outlandish in the mortal realm, and while Lind chose something relatively conservative, the same couldn't be said for Urd. Unlike Lind's all black suit, Urd was wearing a form fitting black mini skirt with a matching strapless top, and a striped white jacket that gave her a more formal look that was further enhanced by the her sheer nylon tights made her long thighs to almost glister under the sunlight.

"Is that so?" said Urd with a slight purr, shifting on her seat, which was more than enough to make the demon next to her swallow hard from his nervousness. "Lind dear… when someone merely steals a glance of what I'm allowing everyone to see, then you shouldn't think of it as inappropriate. It's only when they take liberties which I'm not endorsing, that it becomes a real problem."

"Say what you will, but I still find his interest in Peorth to be questionable," said Lind, pointedly crossing her arms in front of her as she glared at the demon in question. "From my perspective, we might be dealing with someone as problematic as the ones we're about to replace. Especially that four eyed human."

As she was about to reply, Urd paused and instead turned to her left, where Kaun was sitting and gave him a questioning look. "I must admit that she brings up a rather solid point. So, what do you have to say about it, Kaun?"

"I… I do happen to like Peorth, and not just as friend with benefits," said the demon, trying not to focus too much on Lind's piercing gaze, and lose his nerve as a result. "I know what others must be thinking about her, especially thanks to her revealing attires, but I genuinely find her to be a nice goddess and one I like to be around. And let's not mention that at no point of time did I attempt to blackmail or just trick her into sleeping with me. From what I remember it was her who initially proposed that, and… well…"

"That should be enough," said Urd, stopping Kaun before the subject became too personal for her own liking. Not that she didn't like finding out all the juicy details about a relationship was against her morals, but to do so in front of Lind felt like a terrible idea. And speaking of the blue haired demoness, Lind seemed rather skeptical, yet there was a slight change in her attitude, as she finally began to relax in their guest's presence. "As you can clearly see, this isn't the same kind of person that those two were dealing with for such a long period of time. Actually, aside from that mortal, the rest of the demons here weren't that bad. Even Welsper wasn't trying to get into Belldandy's panties, despite his oh so obvious interest. Still, we need to make sure that everyone here isn't going to turn against us, and without knowing Welsper's true allegiance, I cannot trust him in the long run."

"Fair enough," said Lind with a nod, unwilling to get into an argument with Urd without having a reason other than her own deep mistrust of the demons. After all, saying such a thing in front of someone of mixed heritage would not only be tactless, but also prove to be counterproductive in terms of their current goals.

Uneasy silence filled the limo, as they were still a couple of minutes away from the hotel where the two former goddesses lived. Although far from the most efficient method of traveling, it was necessary to take some precautions to avoid exposing their nature to the world. Which was exactly why they've chosen to teleport a safe distance outside of Nekomi, and then drive the rest of the way to their destination, with Urd and her entourage in that comfortable limousine, and the rest of the demons in two tour busses; something that still made the half demoness giggle at the very idea.

'Speaking of ideas…' Tapping her chin, Urd turned to Lind who immediately looked up when she realized that the Norn needed something of her. "Remember that mortal I've mentioned before? That… Toshiyuki Aoshima?"

"I do. You said to take him out the picture, and have Kaun take his place as the Vice President of Mishima Records," said Lind with a slight nod.

"Well, I don't want to bring the subject up in front of my sister, but make sure that he won't show his face up ever again."

That sort of request caused Lind to raise an eyebrow, but for the most part she decided not to elaborate any further, as the hotel was in sight, and discussing about it was out of question. Instead, all she did was to offer a nod, as the limo slowed down and came to a stop in front of the hotel.

"Alright you two! Try to put a smile on your faces!" said Urd, offering them an example of what she meant by that. "It's showtime!"

XXX

Listening to Belldandy's incessant babble about her sister's arrival would've caused a major headache to most people, yet not Peorth. It was absolutely refreshing to see her bubbly, old self reemerge after such a long time, and that brilliant smile was almost contagious. "Just calm yourself down, Belldandy! They'll be here any moment now."

"I know! But it's been so long, Peorth!" said the excited Norn, almost in the same fashion that, Skuld would whenever ice cream was mentioned. "Oh, here they are!"

Following Belldandy's gaze, Peorth saw the black limo struggle to get through the traffic, as such an elongated vehicle was never designed with Japanese cities in mind. It was almost like seeing a barge try to parallel park, which was not too far from what was taking place, and with a shake of her head, the brunette followed her roommate who had already gone to greet her sister.

Pulling to a stop, the chauffeur opened the limo's door, helping Urd out, and straight to a tackle that required all the hybrid's strength to keep herself upright; although that still didn't stop her from inadvertently ram her rear end onto the unsuspecting demon who was attempting to follow after her. " _Oof!_ Bellda-"

" _Neesan!_ " cried the delighted brunette, as she hugged her elder sibling even tighter than Skuld had ever done for her. She had often envisioned what her reunion with Urd would be like, yet none of her expectations had prepared her for the torrent of emotions that currently overwhelmed her; making it almost impossible to hold her tears back. "I've missed you so much!"

Returning the hug, Urd's expression considerably softened as she returned her sister's embrace and soothingly stroked her hair. "I'm here, Bell… I'm here."

The unfolding scene brought a smile even to Lind's face, despite her normally stern attitude, and it went without saying that the same was true about Peorth, too. All four former goddesses were finally reunited, and for once things were looking up for them, especially now that they could better coordinate their efforts to find a resolution for their current predicament.

Yet for one of them there was an additional topic she was most interested in, and once her sister sufficiently calmed down, she leaned into whisper into her ear. "Oh… I just happened to remember something, Bell. You see… a little bird told me that for several years… you've been watching over a pretty boy during your work hours at the Goddess Relief Office. And for much longer than it was absolutely necessary, too… Hm…"

"Neesan!... You shouldn't…" rasped the terrified brunette, knowing all too well what was about to come.

"Shouldn't poke my nose in other people's business?" finished Urd with a raised eyebrow, challenging Belldandy to come up with a reply; which she obviously didn't. "I won't even bother pointing out the irony of it all, but then again you are indeed my sister. And having established that… do you wanna tap him?"

" _Urd!_ We're _not_ having that kind of conversation right now!" gasped Belldandy, as her face turned into a peculiar shade or red that reminded the few onlookers of a ripe tomato.

"Scream as much as you want, baby sister. Sooner or later, I'll get those dirty secrets out of you…" said Urd as she leaned against her younger sister and narrowed her eyes in a most suggestive manner. "Don't you worry though, I'll also give you a crash course on how to get down to… _business…_ with him."

Tugging her top rather uncomfortably, Belldandy averted her gaze towards the next best source of assistance, but neither Peorth nor Lind seemed to be willing to confront the Daimakaicho's deputy, with the former offering the middle Norn an apologetic shake of her head, while the latter gave her an informal salute; the kind of which was used to say the final farewell to a sinking ship.

Suffice to say, this was going to be a _long_ day for one certain Norn of the present.

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

Although not as extensive as I had originally envisioned, this chapter still contains all the right things I wanted to take place before Belldandy and Keiichi meet up again. After all, I wanted their reunion to be somewhat less restricted by the Belldandy's current guards, so that'll happen after some changes take place.

In addition to that, we have Mara's appearance in the story, as well. And I'm almost sure that no one thought that Fehu was her mother, even though someone with her position should've made a lot sense. It would for instance explain why Urd and Mara even met in the first place, as well as Hild's familiarity with Mara, considering that she's the daughter of one of her most trusted staff members.


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

"Stop staring me like that, Bell… For goodness sake, this isn't an interrogation and you know it!" Tapping her foot on the marble floor, the Norn of the past couldn't believe the sheer obstinacy of her sister who simply refused to say a single word about her intentions in regards to a certain mortal she's been spying on for the last couple of _years_. Of course back then, Urd had remained quiet about it, even though she knew everything thanks to poking her nose into her sister's work profile, mostly out of fear as to what Belldandy's superiors would do if they found out about this discrepancy. However, right now she was her sister's boss, and as such she was more than happy to turn a blind eye about this whole subject, yet for some bizarre reason the middle Norn was less than cooperative. "Now, stop being this difficult and help me help _you!_ "

"I don't need your help, neesan!" shot the irate demoness of the present as she looked away from her sister, not wanting to ruin their reunion with a huge fight. "After all, how can you even suggest such a thing?! Do I look like a floozy to you?"

"Belldandy, I don't think you actually understand the implications of trying to court Keiichi as a goddess! For beginners, you've got that horrid Test to deal with, and let's not say a thing about your attitude!"

"Excuse me? _My_ attitude?" shot back the shocked demoness, pointing at herself for dramatic effect. "We… We haven't seen each others for two fucking years, and you're asking me whether I'd like to learn how to go down on him? _Hello, there's something wrong here and it's not me!_ "

"Oh, yeah? You just _f-bombed me_ , Bell! Do I even need to mention how wrong _that_ sounds?" replied Urd as she raised an eyebrow at her… rebellious sister. Something that sounded so strange even to Urd herself, considering that this was actually the first time in her life that she heard Belldandy cuss, and in such spectacular manner as well.

"I do, but trust me… these are some really unique circumstances," said the brunette demoness, backing off a bit as she didn't wish to get to the point of getting into a fight with Urd. "There are times that I don't just feel like myself, and yet some of those emotions… they almost feel… right, and I don't even understand why. Initially I thought that it was just my demonic energy messing up with my head, but for some reason I can't seem to isolate those dark feelings as easily as I used to in the past. Which results in situations where I just… blow out like that."

"That's because you never isolated them, Bell. You _buried_ them instead, and that's a huge difference, no matter how insignificant it might sound to you at first," said Urd with a long sigh, as she momentarily changed the subject to deescalate the situation. "Being a goddess doesn't mean that you're not susceptible to dark thoughts, and yet all you did to resolve yours was to try and bury them deep within you. Probably while repeating that old ' _I'm not fitting to be a goddess'_ mantra of yours, which is utter bullshit if you ask me. But… you never did, and just kept saying that nonsense, as if an effort to piss me off."

"That's _so_ not true!" objected Belldandy in an almost childish manner, stomping her foot on the floor, much to her sister's surprise. "A real goddess shouldn't-"

"Shouldn't this… wouldn't that…" said Urd mockingly, and even rolled her eyes for added effect. "You keep saying all those things, but in the end you experience the same dark emotions like any other goddess. And ironically enough, that's what actually makes you a real goddess; no, a real person!"

Even though she knew that deep down Urd was right, Belldandy still wasn't ready to admit defeat just yet. So, in a last ditch effort to make her point, she too changed the subject, and in the process touched one she would've otherwise avoided. "Speaking of that… how are you coping yourself Urd? Are you still afraid of using your demonic powers?"

The question caught the Norn of the past by surprise, especially as it seemed to be a pointless one, as it was fairly obvious that she's been far from reluctant to use her powers, and right now… those came from her demonic side. However, knowing her sister, Belldandy probably wanted her personal views on the subject, and in all honesty… Urd had no idea how to properly describe her thoughts. Taking a moment to think about it, Urd made a few attempts to offer a reply, until she let out a frustrated groan and scratched her head. "This isn't so simple, Bell! it's not a matter of right or wrong, and… yes, I'm aware of the irony of it all. I used to think in such a polarized way, and attempted to stamp anything that didn't match Asgard's views of perfection as demonic in origin. Sure, I _know_ more than anyone that it's not the case, but I was too afraid that if I didn't… then I might go back, and… and I was scared."

"Yes, but that was back then. What about _right now_ , Urd?" insisted Belldandy, probably against her better judgment. She knew that pushing Urd even harder could end up poorly, but considering how much this subject tormented her sister in the past, she wished to finally make her confront it, rather than run away from it all.

"Right now, I feel angry, impatient, content and quite aroused all at the same time! It doesn't even make any sense! And before you make a comment… no, I don't mean that kind of arousal. It's more like too much bloodlust, rather than just me having an itch down _there!_ Like _a certain someone_ for example."

" _I resent that comment!_ " protested Belldandy and quite loudly too, her cheeks burning from the fierce blush that was threatening to make her whole face light up in bright crimson.

"You can kiss my ass for all I care!" replied the half demoness as she turned to the side and pointed at the aforementioned body part in such a brazen fashion that stunned her sister into silence. "Seriously, Bell! I came all the way here to find out what you've been up to, and you're constantly trying to change the frigging topic! Do you really want me to order you to come back with me, without first hearing what's going on between you and that boy? As annoying as this whole situation is, If we handle it just right, then we can make a gain out of it."

Leaning closer to her sister, Urd's purple irises turned into thin slits as she held Belldandy's gaze with a fierce one of her own, until the latter was no longer capable of maintaining it and turned away. Still, without missing a beat, the elder Norn pushed the brunette demoness' hair behind her ear and with a wicked grin she leaned even further, whispering to her. "Just think about it for a moment… He's a human, and you were a goddess. You can only go so far without triggering a certain test I'd rather not mention. Now, on the other hand… as a demoness, the sky's the limit. Go as far as you're willing, no… as you're _comfortable_ at going, and there won't be any repercussions."

This time though, the response was far from immediate. As much as Belldandy hated to admit it, there was truth in her sister's words, especially when she brought up the subject of the Judgment Gate. Ever since she started watching Keiichi's everyday life, she wondered if she was fooling herself into thinking that pursuing a relationship with him was nothing more than a foolish fantasy. One that was likely going to end in the same -if not worse- fashion as the one that resulted into Urd's birth. "Are you sure about it, though? Is it really a good idea to get to know him even better while being a demoness?"

"Why not? As you may have already realized, deep down you're still… well, you. Despite all the changes thanks to the different kind of energy you're utilizing, your core personality is essentially unaffected. At least not to the point where I'd genuinely have problems recognizing you as my sister," said Urd as paused and made an annoyed face. "And… yes, I know how ironic this sounds, coming from me and all. I've been so damn scared of becoming a demoness, but now that I've been there and done that… it's not all that terrible. I'm still myself and not some bloodthirsty monster, and the same must be true for you too, Bell. So, what stops you from getting close to Keiichi while you're not under the Gate's jurisdiction?"

"I'm not so sure if that's smart, Neesan… Although I'd be able to get closer to him without a care in the world, that would be just a temporary thing. Once I'll turn back into a goddess… once we all go back home, I'll be forced to push him to a safe distance, and that feels wrong. It's almost as if I'm leading him astray by enticing him, and then tossing him aside as if I don't even care! That simply won't do, Neesan!"

"I never said that it's going to be easy, but either way it wasn't meant to be from the beginning. As a goddess the clock would've been ticking from the moment he set his eyes on you. The only difference this way is that you'll get a head start and establish some sort of connection with him before the Judgment Gate even comes into play," said Urd in her defense, pausing for a moment to let her words sink in. "Sure, it may not sound all that much, but if I were you, then I'd definitely take the offer. At the very least I'd make some happy memories with him, rather than letting a fucking test mess everything up for me. But… that's just me, and in the end I'm not going to force you into doing anything you'll come to regret."

"Yes, but wouldn't I regret it if everything simply falls apart?" asked the Norn of the present, still hesitant to simply go with her sister's suggestion.

Instead of an immediate reply though, Urd simply pointed at herself. "You can see the result right in front of you. It didn't work for my parents, and the same can happen with you and Keiichi as well. Well… except the whole _having a love child_ part, since I'm unsure if it's even possible for you two to have a kid together.

"Father still misses Hild," said Belldandy as she lowered her head and averted her gaze, not wanting to look at her sister's reaction to her words. "And even mother knows about it, as she was a close friend to both of them. To be honest with you, I'm not sure if that's what I want for me and Keiichi."

"Being too picky won't get you anywhere. Mark my words, Bell." Shaking her head, Urd walked towards the room's minibar and cracked a bottle open, before pouring a glass for her, and almost as if an afterthought did the same for Belldandy. "I know that you don't normally drink, but I've always wanted to do this with you."

"You know, Neesan… I think you're right. If only Skuld was here it would be perfect," said Belldandy with a sigh, before she accepted the offered drink and took a sip from it. "And speaking of her, I think that you must visit her, too. She's gonna be really upset if she hears that you were here and didn't try to come into contact with her."

"No, _I_ would be upset if I missed the chance to talk with the kiddo," countered Urd with a chuckle. "I want to see how much she changed since we last saw each other, and I don't mean physically. From what I heard, Skuld's less of the bratty half pint she used to be back then, so I want to see her new self. You know… how about you come with me, and use it as an excuse to talk to Keiichi? He's living with her and Ansuz, right?"

The middle Norn raised an eyebrow at her sister's suggestion, given that it sounded far too convenient of an opportunity to let it pass. "Actually, I like the sound of that! We can all meet once again, and… yes, I'd love to talk to Keiichi without that Aoshima prick breathing over my shoulder."

"Then it's a deal! Just give me a few minutes to make a call, and we're on our way!" said Urd with a grin, summoning her phone and then put some distance between herself and Belldandy as she searched through her contacts.

'Time to deal with that… Aoshima prick…'

XXX

"It was about time you showed up! I was beginning to think that your boss had all but forgotten about me, or even the fact that I was assaulted in broad daylight, and our incompetent cops won't do anything about it!"

"For the last time, I'm only here to carry out my orders. There's no need to tell me any of that." Despite the calmness of her voice, Lind had to admit that this human was proving to be far too annoying for her liking. If it wasn't for his incessant complaints about his maimed arm that constantly hurt from the injury he suffered in the hands of the youngest Norn, he was berating her as if she was his underling; a misconception that Lind tried many times to correct, yet her words had fallen on deaf ears. Apparently she was dealing with someone too self absorbed to even listen to anything she said, and considering that the former Valkyrie wasn't exactly the most talkative person in the world, it only allowed Aoshima to keep going.

"Heh… so you're also useless? I thought that you were supposed to replace those worthless security guards with someone who's actually competent, but in the end you're also a punk with an attitude," spat Aoshima from the backseat of the black SUV the demons used to escort VIPs in front of other mortals.

 _That_ caught Lind's attention, who wasn't as tolerant of insults as she used to be in the past. Back then she wouldn't do as much as flinch at the sound of such defamatory comments, and even shrug off some far more serious stuff that typically had to do with her biggest flaw; her inability to summon both her angels, leaving her with only one wing. However, right now her demonic nature screamed for her to teach that guy a much needed lesson in manners, and despite her reluctance to give in to such dark impulses, Lind eventually caved in. "Stop the car. Now."

"Hmm?" Glancing to his side, the bronze skinned demon that was accompanying Lind on this assignment couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the unexpected request. "Right here? We're still within the city limits, you know. I thought we were planning to do this once we got out of Nekomi proper."

"Do it, or I'm stopping the car myself!" snapped Lind, much to her colleague, leaving him with no option but to comply to her request.

"Alright… but remember that this was your idea," groaned the Eldjotunn who cursed his luck for drawing the short straw when he and the rest of his unit wanted to pick the poor sod to give Lind a hand with her current assignment.

Offering nothing more than a grunt, the former Valkyrie waited for the SUV to come to a halt as its driver took a sharp turn to the left and pulled the vehicle out of Nekomi's busy roads and into one of the largest alleys he could find. Not wanting for a moment more, Lind opened the door and walked around the vehicle, heading for the confused Aoshima, who had literally no idea just what he was in for and flung the door open. "Come out."

"I don't think so!" Making an attempt to put some distance between himself and the suddenly not to stoic warrior whose eyes gave off an unholy crimson glow under those shades of hers, Aoshima felt his back come into contact with the opposite door, and even contemplated to open it and make a run for his life. He knew that as long as there were eyewitnesses in the immediate area, this demoness wouldn't dare raise a finger on him, not with them trying to keep a low profile and all that.

Lind however was one step ahead of him, and moved in before he got a chance to run away, grabbing him by the ankle and yanking him hard in order to get him out of the SUV; whether he liked it or not. Dropping the mortal on the ground like a ragdoll, Lind crossed her arms and patiently waited for him to get up to his feet, while her associate exited the SUV as well and quietly approached them. "Get up. And this time don't you dare defy me, or I won't be so gentle with you."

" _Gentle?_ Is this what you call being gentle, you… you-" Catching himself before he insulted her, Aoshima tried his best to hide his fear, as these demons didn't quite treat him like the way he was used to for the last two and a half years. And no matter how delusional he was at times, it was more than obvious that he wasn't surrounded by friends. Of course, that didn't mean that he wasn't planning to contact their boss once this farce was over, but for now he was going to do as being told.

Waiting for him to regain his composure, Lind pretended to check on her watch, just so that he hurried up, and once he was standing in front of her, the former Valkyrie took her sunglasses off, giving him a blood chilling glare. "Finally, you're done playing the coward. Now, I've got some things for you to hear; and hear you will."

"Go ahead, I'm all ears," said Aoshima with a grunt, clearly unhappy to be treated in such a crude manner, but given how the other demon was looking at him too, the wannabe playboy didn't dare to voice his thoughts on the matter.

"From what I'm told, you've been a serious pain in the neck for Belldandy and Peorth ever since they set foot on Earth, and I want an explanation," said Lind in her typically stoic voice that ironically made her sound even more intimidating than she intended.

"An explanation for what exactly?" asked Aoshima in a slightly sarcastic tone, finding it too preposterous to offer explanations for his actions, even under the current circumstances.

"You know all too well, so answer the question and stop wasting my time," insisted Lind, without the slightest hint of taking his words seriously.

"I still don't know what you're talking about, but if I were to make a guess… then I'd say that you're referring to my most generous display of hospitality towards those two," said Aoshima with some resentment, especially after the latest incident where Belldandy knocked him out cold with a jewelry case of all things.

"Where I come from we don't take attempts to get into someone's panties as a sign of generosity," stated Lind in the most blunt manner possible. "So, I'm asking again and this time cut the crap. Why were you so desperately to screw them? More precisely, did you do that on your accord, or was it something you were instructed to do? And if so, who ordered it?"

"Oh, give me a break! You're almost acting as if those two were victims of something!" snapped Aoshima, who could barely stand this impromptu interrogation, or even the fact that he was subjected to one in the first place. Years of living under the impression that he could get away with everything had given him the false impression that this was the same case too, and as such he reverted back to his old tendencies. "Or do you expect me to believe that someone who walks around in her lingerie isn't literally begging for it? And let's not even mention that our supposedly shy Belldandy… is drooling all over an idiot that never did anything for her! At least I've worked hard to turn her into a celebrity, so I ought to get some recognition for it, instead of a happy-go-lucky dude who shows up from nowhere to steal her!"

While that wasn't the reply she was expecting, it still allowed Lind to get an idea of this mortal's state of mind. More importantly though, it reassured her that this scumbag deserved whatever fate Urd had in mind for him. "Trying for the high moral ground is such a typical approach for wannabe rapists, that I'm almost bored to tears. And I bet that's the same kind of excuse you went for whenever a pretty woman approached you. They too were probably _begging for it_ , and once you were done with them, you dumped them for being sluts. I've seen that happen too many times on my assignments here, to even buy anything that comes out of your dirty mouth."

"So what? It's not like you demons are out to make the world a better place, so give me a break and spare me the sermon. I'm done listening to your ramblings, and unless you want me to call your superiors and tell them just what kind of nuisance you've been so far, you'd rather do as I say and take me back to my suite," snorted Aoshima, as his patience was running low, and yet he was forced to deal with this nonsense.

For a moment, Lind's demonic blood boiled within her, demanding to put this mortal to his place, but in the end she had to follow her orders to the letter, no matter how tempting it was to rough up this guy. "You're right about something. I don't want to hear anything more from you. Get back in the car!"

"Not before you apologize," demanded Aoshima with a smug grin, once he felt somewhat reassured that Lind wasn't willing to do anything more than give him a scolding. "I've been a really important ally of your kind for years, and I won't allow a filthy traitor to talk to me like that."

"Wait… what did you just call me?" asked Lind in shock, her eyes slightly widening from the surprise of hearing that one word.

" _Traitor_. Which is more or less what you are anyway," replied Aoshima in amusement, now that he thought it was his turn to give her a sermon, or at the very least repay her for the not so kind words she offered him. "After all, you're doing a great job serving the demons, and for a supposedly former goddess… that sounds a bit suspicious don't you think?"

Generally speaking, Lind paid no attention on petty insults, shrugging them off without as much of a second thought. However on this particular occasion, that blatant accusation caused her to seethe in silent rage, and with her current self being a demoness, it didn't take long until she could no longer contain herself. Before that guy could even blink, her fist made contact with his throat, sending the offender on a collision course with the nearest wall.

The resulting thud brought an unexpected feeling of elation to the former Valkyrie, as she watched Aoshima's limp body slump down and then end up face first on the ground. "That ought to shut you up," muttered the blue haired warrior darkly, before turning to her associate. "Change of plans. We're tossing him to the ocean, so, open up the trunk and give me a hand loading him in."

"But… why not simply burn him right on the spot?" suggested the demon with a casual shrug. "It's going to save us so much time and effort!"

"Because the idea was to make it look like an accident. that's why," said Lind as she threw a thumb in the SUV's direction. "We're going to make it seem as if he lost control of that vehicle and ended up in the ocean."

Offering a curt nod, the demon rushed to open the trunk as per Lind's orders, while the latter walked to Aoshima's unmoving form and picked him up like a sack of potatoes. 'Well… that's one less problem to worry about.'

Unbeknownst to her though, two eyes were studying her every move, and the moment she picked the mortal up from the ground, they retreated back in the shadows, just as silently as they had appeared.

XXX

"Neesan… are you sure this outfit looks nice on me?" asked the nervous Norn of the present as she inspected the pair of white denim pants and blue crop top she was wearing; at her sister's prompt, of course.

"Why, what's the matter? Are you worried about showing your midriff?" asked Urd with a slight grin as she glanced to her left where her sister nervously tugged at her top in desperate effort to cover up just a little bit more skin.

"No, I fear that I look utterly ridiculous," replied Belldandy with an almost comical pout, as she and Urd kept on walking down the path that lead to the site Skuld chose to park her RV. Having decided not to take the scenic route, instead of teleporting straight at their destination, to avoid startling Keiichi who must've been under enough stress already, Belldandy felt that she was ready to meet him again. Keiichi aside, the middle Norn was equally excited about the family reunion with Skuld and Ansuz, especially now that Urd was also present, and they had no pests to interfere with this beautiful moment. 'Okay, let's not remember about that idiot. Urd promised that he won't bother me again, so I hope that's the last I'll hear about him.'

"Nonsense! This looks pretty lovely on you, and let's not mention that it gives you an earthly appeal," said Urd, but then decided to further elaborate when she noticed that blank look on her sister's face. "I mean that it makes you look like an Earth girl, rather than an immortal; whether goddess or demoness."

"Oh… OH! I see… so it's something that Keiichi would like more than what we normally wear." Happy that her sister's explanation actually made sense to her, Belldandy decided to forget about any objections she had about her current attire, as long as it made her look more appealing in Keiichi's eyes.

'She's a demoness and such a trick still works with her? Well, it's nice to know that in the end our natures don't have as much leverage over our personalities as I originally thought.' Of course, Urd didn't wish to deal with the implications this had with her own stance towards her mother, so she tried to focus on her sister's first steps at establishing a relationship. "The trick is to make it seem that you're as close to his generation as possible. We're older than feudalism, Bell, so even our tastes in earthly attires might seem… out of date with the latest trends. However, Keiichi's a motorsport enthusiast, not a history buff. Meaning that you should pick something a bit more modern, and this particular outfit looks fantastic on you!"

"Well, if you think so, then I'll definitely give it a try! Although… how should I approach Keiichi?" asked Belldandy with some nervousness still evident in her voice.

"If you really want him to go after you, then you _must_ avoid showing too much eagerness. I know that you're really looking forward to get closer to him, but it's also important to remember that he doesn't know all that much about you, and if you get too friendly with him, chances are that he's going to freak out and back off," said Urd with an exasperated sigh, as she shook her head at the mental image of her sister in a wedding dress, chasing Keiichi around the lake. "Not only that, but men typically don't want their women to be too easy, unless of course they're looking for a one night stand or a sexfriend. Just try to act normally around him and everything's going to be fine."

"Thank you for the advice Neesan. Now that I know this, I'll spare Keiichi the trouble of feeling uncomfortable, and instead ask him if he's up for a quickie!"

"Yes, that's-..." Pausing in mid sentence, Urd blinked hard as her brain struggled to process what her sister had just said, given how outlandish it sounded at least by Belldandy's standards. However, once the initial surprise subsided, the half demoness noticed that tiny grin in the brunette's face and… promptly caught her in a headlock. "Why you little!... You're a century too young to tease your big sister like that!"

"Ah! Let go of me!" Protested Belldandy, albeit in a rather amused tone, especially when she felt her sister playfully rub her knuckles against her temples. "You're too old to act like this!"

"What did you just say you little punk? I didn't raise you to talk like this to me!" replied the giggling half demoness, almost forgetting everything about their current goal as she continued to play with her sister. Until… Urd nearly jumped when she felt Belldandy's hand reach back to give her sister's bottom a rather sharp pinch. "Oh! _Oh, you dare!_ "

"You bet I do!" said Belldandy with an almost unfamiliar spunkiness. "Now, let go of me or by my mother's feathered bra, I swear I'm going to spank you!"

"Bring it on!"

XXX

Sipping from her cup of coffee like a proper adult, Skuld decided to test her new surveillance system she had installed on the RV the previous day, just in case the demons wanted to pay them a _visit_ and they needed to prepare accordingly. So, the youngest of the Norns sat in front of the TV they had in the living room where she had attached her modified Nimtemblo SK-128DD console she used as a control system for the dozen or so security cameras that were strategically placed around the RV. For the most part Skuld wasn't quite expecting much to happen this early on, and even laughed at Keiichi's valiant efforts to help Ansuz with setting up the barbecue grill, and more specifically help her carry the oversized propane tank, even though the elder goddess had no issues carrying a whole tanker on her own, let alone this little thing.

'Poor guy picked the wrong moment to try to impress mom. I mean… sure, he probably wants to show his chivalrous side to his prospective mother-in-law, but he should've known how pointless this is.' Shaking her head at the sight of Keiichi's ongoing struggle, Skuld fixed a glare at her mother's image on the screen, who was laughing her ass at how red the mortal's face became from trying to push the oversized tank. 'I swear, I sometimes don't believe that we're even related! Look at her laugh like that! Thank goodness Belldandy's nothing like this or she would've been pinching Urd's ass… Uhh… Wait, _what?!_ '

For a moment Skuld stared at her cup of coffee with great suspicion, as old habits from living with an alchemy enthusiast kicked in, and the goddess would've sworn that someone slipped something in there, just for the giggles. But with her mother being the only other goddess here, Skuld could already tell that there had to be another explanation, which in this case also meant that apparently reality could get much stranger than she would've ever at the very least, that's what it seemed to be the case thanks to the surveillance cameras that allowed Skuld to watch a show… unlike anything else. ' _Oneesama_ … pinched Urd's _rear_. Now I've seen everything.'

Sending the rest of the coffee down the hatch, Skuld shot up from the cushion she was sitting upon and floated towards the nearest window as the fastest way to get out of the RV, and to where her mother was still laughing at Keiichi's attempts to set up the barbecue grill. "Okay, that's enough, mom! We've got company!"

Just as the teal haired goddess was about to ask for more details about what Skuld meant by that, the unmistakable sound of thunder could be heard from other side of the lake, followed by a violent gust of wind that left her with no doubt as to what was likely going on over there. "And here I thought that you were the one who always started those arguments."

" _Excuse me?!_ " protested Skuld and quite loudly too, only for her mother to totally ignore her and carry on as if nothing was amiss.

"I never thought I'd say it, but it was about time that girl relaxed a bit and got rid of that stick she had up her-"

" _Mother!_ Oneesama doesn't have such… such… _interests!_ " said Skuld with a fierce blush in her face, that was unfortunately so noticeable that earned her a raised eyebrow from both Ansuz and Keiichi; no matter how hard the latter was blushing as well.

"That's an expression, Skuld. I didn't mean it in a literal fashion," said Ansuz with a tiny smile that progressively turned into a grin. "Although I'd love to hear how you know about that kind of stuff, and at such a young age too. Just because you can turn into an adult on demand doesn't mean that your actual age changes as well, so, don't get any funny ideas."

"Excuse me, but can some tell me what's going on?" asked Keiichi, interrupting the two goddesses after he managed to regain his composure… only to realize that he had no idea what they were talking about.

"Oh, right… you can't sense other immortals' presence," said Skuld and then turned to the confused mortal before she pointed in the distance with her thumb. "It looks like my sisters decided you pay us a visit, but somehow ended up in an argument; for who knows what."

Offering a nod, Keiichi couldn't help but notice that Skuld was referring to _both_ her sisters, which meant that Urd had somehow managed to get out of Hell, or whatever that place was called. Still, what really intrigued him was how someone as collected as Belldandy ended up in an argument with anyone, and from what he heard about Urd he couldn't quite tell whether her arrival was good news for them or not. "Um… I don't want to sound too nosy, but, don't you get along with your big sister?"

"What are you even talking about?" asked Skuld with a sneer. "Of course we're getting along! Urd might be pretty rude and unladylike at times, but she's also the best sister in the world. Just don't tell her I said it…"

"Don't tell her what exactly?" came an amused voice, interrupting Skuld's discussion with Keiichi, and even caused the young Norn to noticeably pale when she recognized just who said that.

"Oh, fuck me…" muttered Skuld, palming herself on the face, before her mother whacked her on the head with a spatula she was planning to use for the barbecue. "Hey, what gives?"

"Mind your language, young lady!" warned Ansuz while threateningly waving the spatula in front of her misbehaving daughter. "Oh, and don't you even dare think about underage sex, either!"

"It was an _expression_ mom! Geez… doesn't that sound familiar to you?"

Chuckling softly at the ridiculous sight of her little sister arguing with her mother, Belldandy had to admit that despite the current circumstances, it was interesting to see this side of her relatives. Most of the time it was Urd the one who spiced things up with her shenanigans, and for once it was quite refreshing to see someone else be the troublemaker. However as she was about to turn towards Urd… the brunette demoness realized that she was nowhere to be found. Or rather, that's what she thought until she looked around and spotted her mere inches from a deeply flustered Keiichi who tried to keep his eyes from wandering too low and towards that plunging neckline of her dress. "Neesan! What do you think you're doing?"

The middle Norn's protests had fallen on deaf ears though, as Urd casually floated closer to Keiichi and ever so carefully raised his chin with an elegant finger, studying the mortal's eyes before she finally broke a smile. "Well, well… you must be the infamous Morisato Keiichi. Pleased to meet you sweetie! You can call me Urd, or if you wish… big sister."

"Urd-chan! Even if you try to switch the _mama_ part with _big sister_ , you're still not old enough to pull the whole _milf routine_ on poor Keiichi-kun! That, and you're not your mother!" said Ansuz the moment she noticed that look on Belldandy's face, bringing everything to a grinding halt, as all three of the Norns and even Keiichi stared at the elder goddess with their mouths hanging open in shock. Yet despite that, Ansuz didn't seem terribly worried and simply approached her stepdaughter, whose whole demeanor changed dramatically, becoming increasingly worried with every step her stepmother took towards her.

After all, this was the first time Urd met such a powerful goddess since she converted into a demoness, and the feeling of apprehension she was experiencing right now was almost the same whenever she was in her mother's presence. It was what the mortals called a 'flee or fight' reaction, despite the fact that she was well aware that her stepmother meant no harm to her.

"Easy there, Urd-chan. No one's trying to harm you… just relax and take a deep breath," cooed Ansuz, as she reached to brush Urd's platinum locks with her hand and push them behind her ear. And surprisingly enough, even such a little gesture caught Urd's attention for long enough to help her snap out of her reverie and remember who she was staring at. "See? It's not _that_ hard. Now, let me take a better look at you."

Urd blinked when she found Ansuz's face right in front of hers, which reminded her the first time she met her stepmother. Back then she was pretty apprehensive too, but for totally different reasons that had more to do with the fact that she was Tyr's firstborn from a different mother, rather than the fact that she was of mixed heritage. As such, Urd had expected her stepmother to give her a fairly cold welcoming to her family, only to end up in her embrace together with Bell who also decided to join in. And while she was a bit too old now for being hugged like that in front of everyone, the way Ansuz smiled at her was highly reminiscent of that moment millennia ago, especially as the goddess ruffled her hair. "You can stop that you know. It took me forever to get my hair done."

"Ah, right… I tend to forget that your hair still remember your old, wavy hairdo. I kind of liked that one better, you know," said Ansuz with a chuckle, causing Urd to roll her eyes in response.

"Which part of what I said you didn't get? Seriously… I hate it when you're messing up with my hair!" protested Urd, only for Ansuz to ruffle her locks even harder in an almost childish manner that made Keiichi wonder just how could such a senior goddess behave like that. "Besides, that's not why I'm here and you know it."

"Ah, that's right," said Ansuz, clearing her throat before she looked over at Belldandy who suddenly tensed up when she met her mother's gaze.

Unlike Urd however, Belldandy's biggest concern had little to do with her current nature and more with her choice of a boyfriend. Or rather, aspiring boyfriend, since she and Keiichi were far from an established couple, and were just making the first and pretty awkward steps to become one. And for a former goddess who never showed any interest to become romantically involved with anyone, Belldandy had no idea what her mother's reaction to the news would be, and more importantly if she was going to support her choice or not. Antagonizing Asgard's second in command was a fool's errand, and something that could lead into all sorts of problems after she reverts back into a goddess. Not only because Ansuz is her mother, which is already a serious enough reason, but due to the mere fact that she's the Interspecies Romance Inquisitor on top of it. And with her as a goddess and Keiichi being a mortal, it's going to be a matter of fact before her mother gets involved in their relationship in order to either deem it worthy, or… separate them forever. "Hello… mother…"

"Not like that, dear," said Ansuz tutting her daughter as she approached the nervous Norn. "There's no need to act like that around me, Belldandy. Demoness or not, you're still my daughter and I've really missed you." Then in an almost unexpected move, Ansuz pulled her elder daughter into a tight hug, "Welcome back, Bell."

"It's… good to be back… mother," replied the middle Norn as she tentatively returned the hug, and not just due to her current nature. She was unaccustomed to such displays of affection from her mother, who rarely -if ever- had enough free time to spend with her daughters, let alone interact with them in such a manner.

"You're still a bit too formal with me, but I suppose that's fair," said Ansuz as she let her go, and turned to Keiichi. "I think it's about time we start this reunion, so do me a favor and turn the gas on. Oh, and Bell… why don't you give Keiichi a hand?"

"Sure thing," said Belldandy and Keiichi in almost perfect chorus, before they paused and exchanged a look, with the two other Norns raising an eyebrow. After all, it was far too obvious that Ansuz's goal was to use the whole barbecue thingy as an excuse to not only allow Belldandy and Keiichi a chance to talk without them getting in their way, but also to give the middle Norn a chance to showcase her cooking skills, that were far from negligible.

So, taking the hint the two Norns excused themselves and joined Ansuz as the latter went inside the RV to make a cup of tea, even though it was actually a ruse to give them some privacy.

"Belldandy… we'll be inside if you want us!" called Ansuz as she entered the RV, giving her daughter a wink that brought a blush to the middle Norn's cheeks.

"Yes, mother!" replied the smiling Norn, and then glanced over at Keiichi who must've taken notice of the whole exchange but chose not to make any comments.

After all, Ansuz almost reminded him of Megumi at the moment, since his sister was far from discreet whenever she tried to hook him up with a girl she new. Of course this time around, Keiichi wasn't going to turn down such an offer, since he genuinely wanted to learn more about Belldandy and this was the best opportunity to do so.

'Okay, Morisato… just keep your cool and don't screw this up!'

XXX

"Now I've seen everything…"

Setting down her binoculars, Mara pinched the bridge of her nose, as the splitting headache she got from observing the Norns' behavior was starting to get to her. 'Holy shit… how long had I been sealed for? This… when did all this happen? Urd's messing around with Belldandy? The brat's grow a pair of boobies? Actually… scratch that, she's cheating so it doesn't count. However, Skuld's not going nuts now that a guy is within an arm's reach from her precious sister? And not mention that Belldandy's got the _hots_ for said guy? _Frekking asexual Belldandy!_ The HELL?!...'

Ruffling her hair in frustration, Mara wondered if this whole thing was nothing more of an illusion made by her mother as a punishment for the disgrace she caused her when she was originally sealed. Not only did she blow that particular mission, but she did it in such a spectacular way that she became Niflheim's biggest joke of the year. Something that ended up with her sealed in a CD, only to be released after all this time.

However, as skilled as her mother was, Mara knew that it was all but impossible for her to create such an illusion, which inevitably forced her to accept reality, regardless of how bizarre this turn of events seemed to be. 'So what am I supposed to do now? Mom wants me to approach Urd and make sure that she stays in line, but… boy I don't want her to act like my boss! There's no way in hell she won't take advantage of her current status to pull my leg, especially without me being able to do something about it. On the other hand, I could probably help Belldandy with her… romance… but… ugh. No, I'm not gonna play the matchmaker. Seriously, even thinking about all that cutesy stuff makes me feel sick to the stomach.'

Having nothing better to do, the blonde demoness picked her goggles up and decided to spy on the middle Norn and her paramour, and occasionally chuckle at the general sense of awkwardness around the not so romantically inclined couple. As a matter of fact, so far those two weren't acting in a disgustingly cutesy manner to make her cringe, although Mara had no delusions that it was only a matter of time before they got to that point. 'But hey!... I can still laugh at them while they're still like this! Now if I had brought some snacks with me it would've been perfect, but… oh well.'

XXX

Blissfully unaware of the audience they had, as both Mara and the others inside the RV were spying on them, Keiichi did his best to help Belldandy marinate the chicken skewers she was preparing for the grill, while the demoness herself chopped an assortment of both hot and sweet peppers to accompany the meat. However as he kept stealing glances at Belldandy, it became increasingly harder for Keiichi to focus, although not due to the most obvious reasons. Instead of checking on the Norn's otherwise gorgeous figure, Keiichi's eyes were glued at Belldandy's impeccable face that for the first time since he had met her reflected a feeling of serenity that was simply captivating.

Even after she caught him staring wasn't enough to dissuade Keiichi from taking his eyes off Belldandy's, as those baby blue orbs glimmered in the sunlight like the most beautiful gemstones. 'She's… breathtaking…'

"Keiichi?..." asked Belldandy ever so apprehensively, as she glanced at the folding table in front of them that they were using to prepare the food on, and then back at the dark haired mortal. "Why are you marinating your fingers?"

"It's only because you look so… stunning…" muttered Keiichi without thinking, causing the Norn to do a double take, since that was far from the response she was expecting. Actually, it took Keiichi a couple of seconds to even realize his blunder and by that time, Belldandy's face was glowing like a Christmas tree.

'Oh my goodness! This happened way faster than I was expecting!' thought the panicking demoness, as she mentally kicked herself for not wanting to listen to her big sister's wise counsel. Granted, Urd's attempts at a crash course on dating delved into deeply personal matters that Belldandy would've never even consider discussing with anyone, let alone the most troublesome of her sisters. 'Alright! Let's not panic and try to handle this the way neesan would.' Even though she was nothing like Urd, the middle Norn had watched how she handled all sorts of compliments on a numerous occasions, and that was more than enough of an experience to draw upon. "Why, thank you… Keiichi. It's nice to know that you like what you're seeing. Oh, and just you wait until you see the rest!"

Keiichi, who in the meantime had managed to snap out of his reverie found himself once again in a state of shock, although this time around it wasn't due to his own response, but the Norn's. Try as he might though, Keiichi couldn't come up with a reply to such a bold statement and for a moment thought of going back to marinating the last few slices of chicken breast left, but realized that such a course of action would make him look like a coward. So, instead of running away as he used to whenever women were involved, Keiichi did his best to put a confident smile on his face and then took a deep breath to soothe his nerves. "How about we discuss this once we're done cooking? I'd hate to see your hard work to go down the drain while we get distracted like that."

"Yes, most definitely!" Without wasting a single second, the middle Norn turned her full attention to the food, as it provided her the best excuse to cut this discussion short, before she irredeemably ruined Keiichi's opinion of her. as well as any chances to grow closer to him. 'Why did I even say such a stupid thing?! Now he's going to think that I'm some loose woman! After all, he hardly knows me!'

And while Belldandy got herself busy with the chicken skewers, Keiichi took a moment to tug his collar, feeling awfully warm all of a sudden and not just due to the heat coming from the grill. 'What should I do? I know that she's currently a demoness, and if Skuld's right, she might behave differently than normal, but would she take offense if I push her away? Worse even… would she hate me later on, if I don't?' Even though he didn't wish to admit it, Keiichi feared that part of Belldandy's interest in him was due to her current nature messing around with her own thoughts and feelings, turning what could've been a mere fascination into lust. And as much as most men in his shoes would've easily dismissed that in order to score with such gorgeous babe, Keiichi didn't wish to stoop that low so that he'd get laid. That was likely more of Aoshima's alley, but then again… Belldandy wasn't exactly unwilling either.

Unable to decide what to do, Keiichi thought that it was better to excuse himself and head inside, before he ended up taking the wrong decision and ruin any chances he had with Belldandy. However, as he was heading towards the RV and opened the door, Keiichi found himself staring at Skuld who was blocking his way with her body and once she got his attention, the brunette crossed her arms and fixed him a hard stare.

"And where do you think you're going, mister?" asked Skuld, even though it was more of a rhetoric question, as she didn't exactly wait for the mortal's reply. "Belldandy's trying her best to avoid acting like a prude, and all you can do is turn your back and leave?"

"But, I…"

"You what? Chickened out? Look, I'm not trying to force you into dating my sister, but at least turn her down properly! What's up with that running away act?" said Skuld, causing Urd to nearly choke on her Sake and turn to stare at Ansuz.

" _The Hell you did to my little sister?! I've heard that she changed a bit… but that's not a bit… it's a LOT!_ " demanded the half demoness as she pointed at the youngest Norn, who merely rolled her eyes and shook her head, clearly unhappy that her sister interrupted her conversation with Keiichi. Urd however wouldn't care less and pressed on, expecting a proper reply from Ansuz who merely stared back at her with a surprisingly innocent look on her face, while wolfing down a whole bag of chips a minute; tossing the empty bags onto the almost filled garbage bin in the corner.

"Oh, you mean why she's not freaking out about Keiichi being close to Belldandy; let alone help him court her?" asked Ansuz rhetorically, trying her best to keep a straight face despite the incredulous stare she was getting from Urd. "Well, you could say that on this regard, our Skuld had finally grown up."

However, before Urd could offer her own opinion on the subject, Skuld interrupted them. "I just love how you both act as if I'm not even present. Now, can you give me a break and let me handle this situation without all those unnecessary comments? _Thank you very much!_ "

Happy that her relatives were finally quiet once more, Skuld turned her attention back to Keiichi, only to see him walk past her and towards the direction of their fridge. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Just to grab something!" said the dark haired mortal while rummaging through the fridge's contents, until he came across what he was looking for. Which turned out to be a pair of iced tea cans, that Keiichi carried with him as he headed back to where Skuld stood, clearly intent to get out of the RV. "It would've seemed weird if I just returned to Belldandy empty handed, so I thought that she might enjoy something refreshing? She likes tea, right?"

"Uh… yeah, of course she does," said Skuld after a few seconds of awkward silence, as the young Norn wasn't expecting this kind of thoughtfulness from Keiichi. "Belldandy might prefer a home brewed cup of tea over those mass produced alternatives, but this might just do the trick on this occasion. Oh, and I think I owe you an apology for-"

"Nah… it's cool. I know that running away wasn't the best of options, and that's why I want to make up for it. All you did was to tell me the same thing Megumi would've if she was here." That being said, Keiichi was still pretty nervous about the whole concept of talking to a clearly interested woman, yet one he knew little about. Of course that was just himself being overly cautious and far too much of a worrywart, but in the end he didn't wish to resolve this by running away. If nothing else, he owned Belldandy a proper reply regardless of what that was, as he knew all too well how devastating it would've been if he was in her shoes. "Just wish me luck!"

"Sure thing. Now go get her, tiger!" said Skuld, offering the mortal a wink and a wave as he walked towards her middle sister… before she turned to the side and glared at her other sibling. "Okay, stop staring me like that! It's not funny!"

"Are you sure you won't regret this, Skuld?" asked Urd for the second time, despite her previous exchange with Ansuz. "If those two end up together…"

"Then I should be happy for them," finished Skuld for her sister, even though she had no doubt that this wasn't what Urd had in mind. "I've done my thinking, and I'd rather help them and make Belldandy happy, instead of becoming one of her problems."

"Okay, I guess I was wrong. You did grow up, after all," said Urd with a sigh, giving her sister a pat on the shoulder. "And since you're a grown up now, it's time to booze you up!"

" _Not in a million years!_ " snapped Ansuz, before Skuld had the opportunities to even think about it. "She's _still_ a minor, so no drinking!"

"Aww…"

XXX

"Here, I thought you'd like something refreshing while we're grilling." Extending his arm in front of Belldandy, the nervous mortal waited for the Norn's reaction to his offering, and while the demoness seemed almost reluctant to accept the canned tea, she eventually gave in and decided to take it off Keiichi's hands. Curiously though, the Norn didn't immediately open it, but instead she meticulously studied the ingredients before even getting her finger close to the pop tab; an action that definitely caught Keiichi's attention and piqued his curiosity. "Uh… is there something wrong, Belldandy?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm terribly sorry! I didn't even even thank you!" said Belldandy as she looked up from the can and mentally kicked herself for forgetting her manners. After a few incidents of trying drinks served in aluminum containers not unlike this one, Belldandy learned that she absolutely had to check the ingredients before she even considered to open it; lest she ended up in a terribly embarrassing situation. "You see, I was worried if this drink contained similar ingredients to Cola."

"Really? Do immortals have food allergies?" asked Keiichi, after he corrected himself in mid sentence before he accidentally asked her if she was worried about her weight; a question that was most likely the rudest thing a man could ask a woman, regardless of being immortal or not.

"No, it's… not an allergy," said Belldandy, making a short pause as she searched the right word to express herself. "It's strange, but I happen to get drunk from Cola, and pretty easily too. Even a single can of that beverage is more than enough to get me completely drunk."

"That's strange… I think I've seen Skuld drink soda yesterday, and she was perfectly fine afterwards."

"Ah, I'm afraid I didn't quite explain it properly. You see, each of us is kind of unique in their own way, and though there are more than enough similarities between us, that still doesn't mean that we're all the same. As you noted, Skuld isn't affected by Cola, just like the vast majority of goddesses. Only a few weird cases like myself will get drunk by such beverages, although at the same time, I'm totally immune to alcohol," explained Belldandy with a tiny smile, as she felt that it was necessary to make Keiichi feel comfortable while asking such questions. After all, this was a golden opportunity for him to learn more about her, and the last thing she needed was to have him feel that he was being too indiscreet and had to stop.

"You know, I'm not sure which one is better; to drink as much alcohol as you like, or soda," mused Keiichi while scratching his chin. Still, as he stood next to Belldandy and cracked his tea can open, Keiichi felt that the demoness began to relax around him, and even tried a sip from her own iced tea.

However, as Belldandy took a swing from the can, an idea came to her, and while she would've never considered such a thing as a goddess, it was pretty much fair game right now. "Um… I didn't notice it before, but my tea is peach flavored, and I kind of prefer lemon with my tea. And yours happens to be lemon flavored, so… do you want to swap?"

"Sure thing, Belldandy!" Not even thinking twice about it, Keiichi eagerly agreed to the Norn's proposition, but only after the exchange was complete did he realize the implications behind it. More specifically, it was when he saw the faint outline of her lipstick mark on the can that he remembered something from his highschool days. 'Wait! I-Indirect k-kiss?! No way!' The embarrassed mortal's cheeks flared up in a deep blush, as he glanced over at Belldandy who clearly had no issues drinking from his can, although he did consider that she probably had no idea of this silly notion as to drink directly from the place where someone else put his lips beforehand. As such, Keiichi took a deep breath before placing his own lips over Belldandy's lipstick mark… and forced the iced beverage down his throat, one gulp at the time. 'Okay, let's stop this childish nonsense! She probably has no idea about indirect kisses and whatnot, let alone try to pull that on me! I'm such a dope!'

Meanwhile, Belldandy set her tea can on the folding table and went back to check on the skewers, as it became apparent by their delectable aroma that they were almost done by now. However as she started to hum a cheerful tone, the middle Norn couldn't help but feel happy at her own idea of getting something… extra from this meeting with Keiichi.

'I've done it! It's not the real deal, but I've kissed Keiichi and it felt good! Next time… Next time I'll go for the actual thing! And it's gonna feel even better!'

XXX

The black SUV hit the water with a loud splash, after it rolled down the hill next to the cape, a mere fifty miles away from Nekomi. As planned, behind the wheel was the now lifeless body of the once notorious playboy and vice president of Mishima Records, whose death sentence was signed by the most unlikely of demonesses. And yet not only did she order this execution of sorts, but while this took place… Urd was most likely enjoying her reunion with her sisters and their mother, as well as the mortal the middle Norn was so keen to get closer to.

'So this is the true nature of demons. The moment you think they're not as scary as you originally feared… that's also the moment you'll find their claws buried deep into your guts. I've heard of it before, and even saw them look aroused by death, but… to experience it is… strange. Even though I enjoyed fighting as a goddess, I never felt… aroused by it. Not like this, and I didn't even had a proper opponent, just a flimsy mortal.'

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts as she didn't quite like where they were going, Lind glanced at the Eldjotunn who was accompanying her and for a moment the urge to just pick up a fight with him was almost overwhelming. She wanted to draw blood and she wanted it _now_. So much so, that she was almost ready to snap her diamond shaped earring that contained her old battle axe -as she was now allowed to possess it once again- but the moment she did, Lind hesitated. For her the battleaxe wasn't actually a weapon, but safety equipment that all Valkyries had to use in order not to accidentally kill their opponents in combat. As such, centuries worth of combat drills resurfaced the moment she touched that tiny crystal, and demoness or not… a Valkyrie was still bound by her duty; until that time of silence.

'Stop. Breathe. Focus. Think. Act.' Repeating the millennia old mantra she was taught during her basic training, Lind eventually calmed down enough to think properly and dissuade herself from letting loose on the unsuspecting demon who was texting a report to his superior -most likely Surt or at least one of his subordinates- after they've disposed the SUV along with Aoshima's corpse. "Are you done yet?"

"Yeah, I'm good. The Commander said we're done here, so let's get back and see who else needs to bite the dust."

"Agreed… except that we're not killing anyone without Urd's explicit permission," said Lind after she regained her composure to offer her reply without dropping a hint of her near loss of control. "And I don't care if your commander told you otherwise. Urd still outranks him now, and as such she's the one who calls the shots here; unless the Daimakaicho decides to intervene."

"Fine, I've got no objections with that," said the demon as he let out a sigh. "Can we go now at least?"

"Yes."

Having no further need to keep up the charade, the two infernals simply teleported out of the scene, yet the moment they did, a sole demon poked his head from around a nearby tree.

"No way… this is serious! Did you see what they've done to him? They _killed_ him!" cried Welsper in sheer terror, especially when he recalled the Eldjotun's idle comment about more people biting the dust. "Screw this! I don't care about you, but I'm surrendering!"

"Do that and you'll only end up inside a sealed container, or… worse," said a disembodied voice from around Welsper's neck, where a small tear-shaped crystal was attached to the demon's shirt. "After all, you've seen what they've done to me, and the same fate probably awaits you as well."

"Now hold on a second! The only reason they've disembodied you was for attempting to rape Urd! I've never done anything like that! Ever!" protested Welsper as he was about to detach Sokkmimir's crystal from his person and toss it to the ground. He honestly had no desire of meeting such fate, and it was actually only his fear of reprisals from Belldandy's sister that led him to consider helping this guy in exchange for disappearing into obscurity. After all, even though he was punished, Sokkmimir still had a few connections he could rely upon, and the once deputy of demonkind promised Welsper that he was going to help him find refuge in the Lower Levels, before Urd's lackeys got their hands on him. "Look, I'm not gonna hand you to them, but I won't risk getting offed when I can just get a fair trial."

"Are you an idiot or something? Did that four eyed moron got anything remotely similar to a fair trial?"

"No… but he wasn't a demon, anyway! Who cares about one less human on this world?"

"Even then… for a former goddess, that ungrateful bitch had no qualms to order his execution. Now, do you seriously expect her to turn a blind eye to the demon who did absolutely nothing while that pervert attempted to drug her sister on multiple occasions?" asked Sokkmimir, causing Welsper to momentarily pause and consider his words.

"That's… not likely. Aoshima's foolish attempts were based around human made drugs… that naturally have no effect on an immortal. Furthermore, I only became aware of those attempts long after they took place, and even more, I did my best to keep that moron out of Belldandy's hair," insisted Welsper as he removed the crystal and dropped it on the ground. "Farewell, Sokkmimir. I'm not risking my neck to postpone the inevitable."

"Not even to explain yourself to Belldandy?" asked the disembodied demon in a last ditch effort to stop his fellow fugitive. "If you truly believe that you've done nothing wrong, then would you like to let Urd and the others convince Belldandy that you were nothing better than that Aoshima character? Especially now that she's probably pushing her to date that… hmm… what was his name again?..."

Despite being ready to walk away, Welsper paused and clenched his fists at the mention of Keiichi; the guy who in his opinion didn't deserve Belldandy, and yet was the most likely person to end up with her. After all, Welsper had done everything in his power to protect Belldandy, while that mortal did absolutely nothing whatsoever and yet he became the one who captured her heart. And while he totally knew that this was merely Sokkmimir's way of tricking him into offering his help, Welsper eventually caved in and turned around to pick up the crystal containing the remains of Sokkmimir's essence. "For the record, I'm only doing this for a chance to talk to Belldandy."

"And you'll definitely get that chance," replied Sokkmimir in his most reassuring tone, before he switched gears and casually put this whole conversation behind him. "Now let's get that mortal's corpse so that we can still necromance him. That puppet's purpose if far from over, and we're gonna need all the help we can get. This… is far from over."

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

First of all, I apologize for the delay since I went on vacations sometime between the release of the previous and this chapter. Normally I make arrangements for such things, but this year the situation was so unpredictable that I've failed to prepare the chapter prior to my departure. Then again, I think I could've done it, but decided against it, since it would've caused a negative impact on the chapter's content.

Now, as for the chapter itself… I first need to admit that I didn't go nearly as far with Keiichi and Belldandy's interactions here, but then again I needed to set up a few things for the next few chapters, rather than have them happen all of a sudden and without the slightest warning.

The biggest question of course is whether Aoshima's dead or not. I don't want to throw a spoiler, but… I think you'll really want to have him dead by the end of the story. And I mean truly and beyond the slightest doubt kind of dead. But until then, you need to live with that creep.


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

 _Pain._

Among humans there several stories of people who managed to come back to the land of the living after a horrific accident, but for Nekomi's most notorious playboy there was no white light, nor a sensation of being surrounded by something greater than himself. Instead, it was total darkness, confusion and so much pain that would've normally make him scream; if not for the fact that he his vocal chords weren't even working.

 _Nothing really did._

Then, after what must've felt like an eternity, Aoshima's other senses slowly began to restart one after the other, causing him great distraught as his brain struggled to process the conflicting and often jumbled messages that bombarded him all of a sudden. 'Wha-... Where?...'

"Ah… he's finally starting to wake up. Good, that's really good."

The unfamiliar voice added more to Aoshima's confusion, as it came from far too close to him and yet the recovering man was almost sure that it wasn't just a figment of his imagination. Instead, it was as real as the other one that soon joined in, and this time, Aoshima did manage to identify its source.

"It seems that the procedure was a greater success than we had originally hoped for. Still, we shouldn't waste any more time here, or Urd's lackeys might find out what's going on."

That one was definitely Welsper, the blonde demon who's been assigned as the _Rose Witches'_ manager, and ever since then he's been an obstacle in Aoshima's plans for turning the former goddesses into his playthings. 'What is he doing here? Where… _is_ here anyway?'

"Don't worry too much, we're almost done here. All we need is for our… _not so mortal_ friend to fully wake up and then we can leave. Moving him in this kind of state is far too risky, and I'd rather not have to dig for another fresh corpse, when I can use this one."

'Who are they talking about?' wondered Aoshima as he finally began to feel his limbs, yet it took him some serious effort to even flex his fingers, let alone the rest of his arms.

"I sure hope so. This waiting game is starting to make me really nervous," admitted Welsper, before he paused and reached to peel Aoshima's eyelids open, and point a small flashlight at them.

The unexpected stimuli caused Aoshima to instinctively shake his head, trying to turn away from the source of this harsh light, and in the process become more aware of his surroundings. He was lying on the ground, most likely close to the ocean as he could hear the sound of waves in the distance, and judging by the deep blue color of the sky, it was probably either late noon, or pretty early in the morning, just as the sun was about to shine over the horizon. More so, Aoshima's lips felt incredibly dry and covered with salt, which was exactly what he could smell as well, until his attention was diverted from his surroundings and back to his body, when his burning lungs demanded his immediate attention. Feeling unable to breathe, Aoshima gathered all the energy that was still left in his broken body and flipped over, retching the water that still remained in his lungs.

It took him a few minutes to fully recover from his coughing fit, splattering water and filth, that the man didn't even wish to know where it came from, until the physically and emotionally spent Aoshima flipped on his back and nearly passed out from the exhaustion. Welsper however, immediately intervened and shook him by his shoulders, as they didn't have the time to wait for Aoshima to regain his consciousness for the second time in a row.

"Hey, don't fall asleep now! We must get out of this beach as soon as possible, and we're already late!" Yet despite Welsper's prompts, Aoshima barely managed to keep his eyes open, let alone respond, forcing the blonde demon to take the initiative and find a solution of his own. "Okay, let's get out of here first, and then find out how to keep you awake!"

Not wasting any more time, Welsper picked the unresponsive Aoshima up and promptly teleported them as far from Japan as he could, trying to put as much distance between himself and the demonic forces stationed here on the mortal realm.

All without knowing that they've been spied upon.

XXX

Teleporting back to the hotel, the possessed Earth spirit's face remained an almost unreadable mask, as the god within struggled to come up with a verdict about his firsborn's decisions as of late. While it was indeed fortunate that Urd managed to climb up the demonic hierarchy, so that she and the others were relatively shielded from the vast majority of demons, it did strike him odd that she'd order a mortal's execution just like that. Of course, one should take into account that Urd had little to no experience being a demoness, and now that she no longer had someone breathe down her neck, she started to go out of control.

'This simply won't do! If I let her go on like this, it won't take long before she becomes Hagall 2.0! Actually… now that I think of it, Urd's potential for destruction is on a far greater scale than that blondie's.'

Letting out a heavy sigh, Tyr had to admit that either way, Urd was quite protective of Belldandy. A tendency that was only strengthened now that her demonic nature was in charge and without any restrictions placed upon her, which could only become worse the longer she remained in the mortal realm.

'It's time to put her back into a semblance of control, before this becomes too much of a problem to fix later on.'

So, without any time to waste, the possessed Earth spirit left his room and headed for Urd's, hoping that this wouldn't just end up in a huge disaster.

XXX

Meanwhile, inside the room the two songstresses shared, Belldandy was in the process of pulling up the blinds, in order to properly to welcome a new day with a bright smile. And she had every reason to be happy, as the brunette had just arrived from Skuld's place after she spent the night catching up with her sisters, and as an added bonus she informed Peorth that she had absolutely no issues if she wanted to invite some company during her absence. Which… judging by her roommate's state of undress, along with the misplaced bedsheets that currently laid on the floor, it was more than evident that she had a visitor last night.

'I wonder if she's making any progress, or she just wants a casual relationship without commitments. We actually never quite talked about this, but then again, I'm not sure it's proper for me to ask her for details about her trysts.'

Hearing a groan from across the room, the middle Norn turned to look over at the rousing Peorth, who was likely reacting to the sun rays hitting her face. "Good morning, Peorth!"

"Good mornin…" slurred the barely awake demoness, as she turned around in a desperate attempt to shield herself from the sunlight and get a few extra minutes of sleep.

"Please don't tell me you stayed up all night," chided Belldandy as she approached the rebellious demoness who even put her pillow over head to block her roommate's voice, as she simply refused to get up just yet. "As much as I don't mind your nightly activities, would you please take a shower afterwards?"

"I did. It's just the sheets that still need to be changed," replied Peorth with a grunt, without even worrying about the implications of her admission. Unlike before though, Peorth got no response from her roommate, which initially made her feel relieved, thinking that the Norn was too embarrassed to make an argument. However, as the seconds passed, and she still got no reply, Peorth started to feel somewhat guilty at the way she treated the only friend she had during those last two and a half years, and turned around to see if Belldandy was still there.

Only to found out that not only the middle Norn was still present, but she had apparently taken her time to wear a maid's uniform and even put latex gloves on, before she reached and grabbed the bed sheets. "Wait, Belldandy… What are you-"

Her fellow brunette had no chance to finish her sentence though, as Belldandy pulled hard on the bed sheets, tossing Peorth onto the hard floor, since the latter barely had the time to react to this development. With that done, the middle Norn hastily folded the offending piece of fabric, and proceeded to replace it without a moment to waste, despite the glare she was receiving from Peorth. "Ah… much better now! The refreshing smell of a clean and freshly ironed bed sheet."

"Sorry to interrupt you, but you could've waited for me to properly get out of the bed, before doing that," muttered Peorth as she hovered up to her feet and then casually dusted herself, despite her own state of undress. As a matter of fact, Peorth stole a glance in Belldandy's direction, just to see her reaction, but so far the fellow demoness seemed almost unfazed by her lack of attire, which all by itself was fairly strange, if not downright uncharacteristic of her. So, after she casually summoned a nice minidress, along with a black set of lingerie, Peorth quickly changed into them, and then decided to address her overzealous friend who was meticulously inspecting the immediate area around the bed. "Goodness gracious, Belldandy! What are you checking the wallpaper for?"

"Well… I've heard that some couples prefer to… hm… do _that_ against a… vertical surface, rather that on a horizontal one," replied Belldandy with a ghost of a blush, even though such a response should've normally been too much for her to even consider, let alone vocalize it.

"Hm, you've got some pretty... _interesting_ ideas, Belldandy. Did anything exciting happen yesterday?" asked Peorth teasingly, as she leaned closer to the now fiercely blushing Norn and offered her a knowing wink. "Come on, don't be so shy! You know what I've done, so, give me some juicy details!"

"I… No, it's not like that, Peorth! We just spent some time together talking, and we sang some karaoke with neesan and Skuld, and Keiichi was too embarrassed to try as well, but we eventually got him to sing one song too, and…" By now, Belldandy knew that she was blabbering, yet it was hard for her not to be excited about yesterday's event. Things had gotten way smoother than she would've ever expected, as she actually managed to spend a fair amount of time with Keiichi, and though nothing really special happened -aside from that indirect kiss she managed to get from him- it was definitely a step in the right direction. "I've actually got a compliment from him!"

"Details, girl!" said Peorth, edging closer to the Norn, her curiosity now piqued as she had never seen her roommate act like a… normal girl. After all, back when they were goddesses, Belldandy used to be the almost perfect and thus unapproachable role model, while as a demoness the once cheerful woman had turned into a rather grumpy shadow of her former self. "Come on, don't leave me in the dark! What did he say?"

"He… he called me stunning," replied Belldandy with a blush, looking away from Peorth, as she was too embarrassed to share such intimate -at least by the Norn's standards- details from her encounter with Keiichi.

"Alright… that's a good start," said Peorth with a hopeful smile, before she leaned closer to Belldandy and smirked at her. "So, did you guys kissed?"

"Y-Yes, we kinda did…" shyly admitted the already blushing Norn, causing Peorth's eyes to go wide from this unexpected revelation.

" _For real?_ Okay girl, _now_ I _must_ learn all the details!" demanded Peorth, wrapping an arm around Belldandy's shoulders, just in case the latter lost her nerve and attempted to bail out. "Who kissed whom first? How was it? Did he touch a bit, too? You know… back there?"

" _Whoa!_ We didn't go _that_ far, Peorth!" protested Belldandy, and quite vehemently too. "I've only gotten an indirect kiss from him, that's all!"

"Eh? But… that's kindergarten stuff!" The disappointment was clearly evident in Peorth's voice, as her shoulders even slumped a bit as she was expecting something far more spicy instead of this kind of innocent -if not childish- display of affection. "Seriously, you need to step up your game, and fast! Otherwise, Keiichi might think that you're a total prude or something."

"Uh… I'm not sure about that. Isn't that a bit too forward? We barely managed to spend some time together, yesterday, and going for something more could be…" Pausing as she searched for the right word, Belldandy noticed the disapproving look on Peorth's face and frowned a bit, wondering if she was doing something wrong. "Um… what is it, Peorth?"

"Look, as much as I find this incredibly sweet and all that, I don't think that such a slow paced approach could work with a human. Keiichi can't just spend whole years courting you, and our current situation only complicates matters even further. If you don't act now, then you might come to regret it later on, so, put some additional effort to cover up as much ground as possible whenever you're with Keiichi."

Offering a slow nod, Belldandy actually gave her roommate's words some thought, and as much as she'd like to disagree and insist that a slower approach was preferable, there was no way to deny that the current circumstances were far from ideal. Even with Urd's support, in the end they were still Hagall's hostages, despite the gilded cage the latter built around them, to give them the illusion of freedom. After all, if there was anything that the new Daimakaicho excelled at, was her uncanny ability to create illusions; and the luxurious lifestyle Hagall provided for them was just another of her illusions.

Before Peorth could reply though, a knock on the door brought both demonesses back into reality, and more specifically their daily routine. "I believe that must be Kaun, so please put something on while I'll head to open the door," said the middle Norn, before stopping to give her fellow demoness a look. "I know that you two are an item, but I'd rather not stick around for the fireworks."

"We're not an item! I think I've already told you that!" said Peorth in a forceful, yet playful manner, before she pointed at her mini dress; regardless of how skimpy that was. "And in case you're blind, I'm already wearing clothes!"

"Well, we'll have to wait and see then," said Belldandy with a cryptic smile, and then stared at Peorth's attire in disdain, shaking her head, much to the latter's chagrin. "Also, I'm pretty sure I can see your dress, but the same goes for your panties, too. Just pick something a bit longer, will you? This dress is borderline indecent!"

Feeling rather annoyed by what she considered as blatant criticism of her personal tastes, Peorth found it increasingly difficult to hold her tongue and avoid a totally pointless argument, especially over such a petty subject. Still, she wasn't going to let this slide just like that, as her sense of pride was even stronger now that she was a demoness, and considering how proud she was to begin with, it was all but impossible to remain quiet while someone looks down on her. "You know… even if you were right, the fact that you're paying _so_ much attention to what I'm wearing is quite noteworthy. If I didn't know better, I'd say that you're actually jealous of poor Kaun. There's no need for that, though. Call me a shameless flirt, but I'm totally into threesomes!"

For a moment, Belldandy's cheeks turned so red, that she could've sworn that she literally glowed like a desk lamp, even though she knew that Peorth was most certainly trying to get her back for that comment. Still, she was so embarrassed that all she could do was stammer an excuse, and make a dash for the bathroom, leaving Peorth to answer the door.

'Hm… I think I went too far with that joke, so, I guess I owe her a proper apology, and a nice cup of tea later on. Still, she's so fun to tease!'

XXX

In an abandoned arcade, far from downtown Nekomi and its bustling roads, a lone demoness was about to start the second day of her mission. Opening her coffin's lid ever so slowly, to keep the rusting hinges from creaking too loudly, the naked blonde groggily rubbed her eyes as she got up to inspect her surroundings, and more importantly figure out how she got here.

Which, wasn't actually too strange of a question, given the numerous beer cans littering the otherwise dirty floor, that acted as a clear reminder of the sheer amount of booze she sent down the hatch last night. 'Ugh… I still feel sick!'

Rubbing her temples, Mara tried to ignore her splitting headache she got during yesterday's reconnaissance mission, as the sickening overdose of cheerfulness that saturated the entire area around Skuld's RV was too much for her to stomach. Even as a demoness, Belldandy's painfully obvious happiness was more than enough to make her face turn slightly green, and the middle Norn's equally obvious interest in that mortal, only added to Mara's headache. Still, it was all in vain, as she now knew what she was dealing with, and no matter how different this kind of assignment was, compared to her regular jobs, Mara had no desire to return home defeated.

'If mother wants me to help those two get together -for whatever the reason- then I'd better do that, and promptly. As disgusting it is to play matchmaker, I desperately need prove myself right now. And given Belldandy's luck, those two might actually manage to become a couple even on their own…' Smirking, Mara extended her arm and a dark vortex of power formed around her naked body, leaving behind a red, form fitting body suit made of leather. 'That's right. I'll turn that Norn's good luck into my own trump card for once.'

Without wasting time, Mara headed for the closest window of the dilapidated building and took off in the air, in search of the best method to track Belldandy down, and yet keep a fair distance from the rest of demonic forces stationed here.

'I better track her daily activities down and see how I can get close to her. I bet that's the same method that Keiichi boy and Skuld are going to use as well. So, if I try to do the same, chances are that I'll succeed, as well.'

XXX

' _According to the police's spokesperson, the recent assault on mister Toshiyuki was a case of intimidation that went horribly wrong. However, it's been revealed that there was a misidentification of the primary suspects, and especially the man who was driving the perpetrator's getaway vehicle. Contrary to earlier claims, the bike with the sidecar used in the assault didn't actually belong to a local resident, as further evidence points to well known group of loan sharks, that's mostly active in Tokyo. Apparently, the unusual choice of a getaway vehicle was the primary reason behind this mess up, and according to the police, several of the eyewitnesses rushed to identify the driver as a local resident who's known to drive a similar bike. Regardless of this honest mistake, the police are adamant to carry on with the investigation, until the real perpetrators are arrested and face charges for this heinous crime. Coming up next-..._ '

Turning off the TV, Keiichi had to admit that this news were a bit too good to be true, and the most likely explanation was that, Urd must've something to do with this. Even though she actually mentioned that she was going to find a way to clear his name, last night, for the most part Keiichi didn't quite believe her and assumed that she was merely trying to cheer him up. As it turned out though, the half demoness was far from joking, and must've done something to restore his reputation, especially since there were more than enough people in Nekomi who knew that he owned a bike with a sidecar, given how rare such a thing was these days.

'Well… that's a relief. At least I know that they won't immediately arrest me if I return to Nekomi. And the police are likely to leave Megumi alone too, which is definitely a bonus. But… if Urd's capable of making this happen… could it be that her other gift was real too?' Reaching into his pocket, Keiichi retrieved the credit card Urd gave him just before she departed, and briefly wondered if it was indeed loaded with millions of Yen; way more than he'd ever manage to save up, even with a good job. 'I wonder… should I give it a try and see if this is actually loaded with cash? I could definitely forget about work if that's the case, but… is it an honest thing to do? To simply accept a fortune that I did nothing to earn?'

Such were Keiichi's thoughts when Skuld approached him from behind with a curious expression, as she couldn't quite see what he was so intently staring at. "Hey, what's up, Keiichi? Did you find something interesting?"

"Uh… no, nothing at all!" Pocketing the credit card, almost as if he was doing something illegal just by staring at it, Keiichi attempted to change the subject, before he had explain himself. "What about you, though? I've heard some noises from outside a while ago, so-"

"So, you've been wondering what I've been up to?" finished Skuld for him, and watching her mortal friend nod absently, the goddess of the future went on. "That would be my newest project! Mr. Boxy Car!"

"Uh… say what?" asked the incredulous mortal, as the mere name of Skuld's project was brought up.

"Here, take a look at this!" said Skuld, taking a palm sized cube out of her pocket and motioned for Keiichi to follow her. Then, as she stepped outside the RV, Skuld pressed the sole button on the cube's surface and tossed it a fair distance away.

Initially, nothing seemed to happen, which prompted Keiichi to step out of the RV, instead of hiding inside it, just in case Skuld's project blew up in bits. However, in a manner of seconds, Keiichi realized that the cube was straightening itself up, before it opened and began to unfold. And no matter how physically impossible it seemed to be, what was once a palm-sized cube, turned into a small two seater car. "What the heck? It… unfolded? How?..."

"Tada! This is Mr. Boxy Car!" proudly declared the Norn, pointing at the aforementioned vehicle. "Given how congested Japanese streets are, the solution is a small, compact and agile car. Well, all things considered at least, since it has the aerodynamics of a brick, and such small wheels that speeding on a tight corner will most likely cause it to flip. Although, it's still pretty comfortable on the inside, and not to mention that it's totally eco friendly, since it uses batteries. You see, it's hard to make a tank full of gasoline fold like that, and besides… I need the stuff for my thermobaric explosives."

"You know… have you ever tried to do normal things, like the rest of the kids your age? Like… video games for example?" asked Keiichi sheepishly, trying not to comment about Skuld's need to create explosives.

"Yes, and I'm still playing video games," said Skuld with a roll of her eyes, as she tried to ignore the part where the word 'kids' was mentioned. If there was something Skuld loathed the most, it was when others called her a kid. For all her intellect and skills as an inventor, fabricator and mechanic, Skuld was often dismissed as being too young to handle _serious stuff_ , which bugged her to no end. And ironically enough, those who questioned her maturity were far less suited to handle such situations themselves. 'I wonder if Keiichi would've taken me more seriously if he never saw me in my normal form. If I had the time to perfect my Time Accelerator Mk IV, then I could stay as an adult for much longer, and hide my actual age from him altogether.'

Seeing Skuld go silent all of a sudden, Keiichi mentally kicked himself for being this tactless, and even downright rude. 'Here's a goddess who's doing her best to help me, and I'm acting like an idiot. It's almost as if being a smartass makes me sound cool or something. Ugh… I guess I've seen too much TV, and it's starting to give me funny ideas.' Shaking his head, Keiichi knew that he somehow had to apologize and the best place to start was by taking a closer look at Skuld's latest invention. "Actually, now that I think of it, you more or less solved the world's parking problem. Wish my Beemer could turn into a convenient package like this."

"Thanks Keiichi, but I don't think that I can use this technology on your bike. As convenient as it seems to be, you won't be able to tweak your Beemer if I rebuild it, and I know that I'd definitely wouldn't like that if I were in your shoes. I'm a mechanic too, you know." Rather than get upset about his previous response, Skuld merely shrugged it off and maintained her cool, which was apparently what adults deemed as the right thing to do; even though half the time they didn't quite follow their own advice. "At any rate, I've made this specifically for taking Belldandy on a date. I know that you favor motorbikes, but they're not made with privacy in mind, and Belldandy happens to be a celebrity. So, a bike is totally unsuited, unless you want a horde of paparazzi after you."

"W-Whoa! A...a date? W-Who said anything about a… a date?" stammered the flustered mortal, when the conversation took a most unexpected turn, and he suddenly faced something he'd rather not discuss with Skuld.

" _I_ did, and you better deliver, pal!" snapped Skuld as her mood rapidly deteriorated. Just like her eldest sister, the brunette could apparently remain as cool as a cucumber as long as the subject only concerned her, but would go ballistic the moment she felt that she needed to protect her sisters. Something that turned out to be a new experience for Skuld, given that it was usually Belldandy and Urd who looked out for her, and not the other way around.

"Okay… and how am I supposed to do that? I mean, as her sister you should know her way better than anyone else. So, can you give me any hints on how to approach her?" Ignoring his almost instinctive need to run away from such a potentially embarrassing subject, Keiichi put a valiant effort to maintain a straight face, while Skuld stared at him for what must've felt like ages to him.

"Hm… good question. I haven't seen oneesama flirting with anyone before, so, I suppose we'll have to improvise something," said the faux adult while trying to recall anything from her shoujo manga that might come in handy. However, deeming them as far too cheesy for Keiichi to accept, let alone try, Skuld opted to go for something that should work with Urd; no matter how ill advised that might turn out to be. "Okay, how's about this: First, buy her a drink, which in Belldandy's case should be tea, even if it's a cheap one from an automated vendor. Then, you invite her to go on a walk with you, and as you do, wrap an arm around her. Are you following me so far?"

"Yes." Nodding ever so slowly, Keiichi had to admit that he wasn't really expecting Skuld to actually come up with something this… hands on. At best, the mortal hoped for a few tips about Belldandy's interests, and perhaps a few more bits he could use to start up a conversation with her, but this almost sounded like a step by step guide. And for once, Keiichi didn't mind getting some help. "Then?... What's next?"

"The next part is talking; and I mean, just that. Don't worry too much about the topic, as in the end you're not collaborating for writing a thesis, or something like that. Just keep the conversation going, even if you talk about mundane and otherwise boring stuff. The whole point is to get used talking to her, so, the moment you're going to touch an important subject, you won't start stuttering."

Giving her another nod, Keiichi was doing his best to keep mental notes of Skuld's instructions, still genuinely impressed by the young goddess' know-how, even though she seemed to act a bit more like a responsible adult as of late. There were moments when she acted more mature than her mother, and last night's gathering was more than enough proof of that. Not only did Skuld keep Ansuz and Urd from going too far with their little drinking competition, but she made sure that he got a chance to spend some time talking with Belldandy. 'Hold on a moment… Does that mean that she already tried that approach, yesterday? Hm… I never quite realized it back then, but with Urd and Ansuz not too far from us, I was nowhere as self conscious about talking to Belldandy.'

For her part, Skuld struggled not to laugh right in front of Keiichi, when the latter seemed so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even register the Norn's hand, as she waived it in front of him. "Hello!... Earth to Keiichi!"

"Wha?" Snapping out of his reverie, Keiichi blinked hard when he found Skuld's face mere inches from his. Which unsurprising enough caused him to lean away from the otherwise younger goddess, even though she was currently taller than him. "Hey, what's the big idea, Skuld?"

"That should be my line, Keiichi. You kinda spaced out on me, all of a sudden," said Skuld as she shook her head at how silly Keiichi's expression was at the moment; with him looking at her with such big eyes that reminded her of an anime character. "But enough of that. I've actually got more important things to discuss with you, before we try to tack oneesama down in the city."

"Like… what?"

"Like how to wrap an arm around her shoulders," said Skuld as if it was the most natural thing in the world, even though Keiichi turned red just from the mere notion of doing that with Belldandy, and not to mention having someone else show him how it's done.

"No way! I mean… you can't possibly expect me to hug you, do you?" Backing off from the temporarily grown up goddess, who clearly had some rather… funny ideas, Keiichi tried to excuse himself and make a dash for the door, until Skuld got hold of him.

"It's a stupid hug, you big baby! I didn't ask you to kiss me, or do anything really naughty, so there's no reason to complain! Now, stop acting like a kid and do as I say!" demanded the Norn while wrestling him to get hold of his right arm, wrap it around her. She even placed her hand over his, just to prevent him from taking it off her. "Alright, big baby! Try to walk alongside with me, and keep your body language relaxed. If you can't do that with me, then I doubt you'll manage to do this with oneesama!"

"Yes, but... it's… _awkward!_ " managed Keiichi with considerable effort, as the taller girl dragged him along, from one end of the RV's living room to the other, and back again.

"Don't blame me for being taller than you. Besides… I don't get why the girl always has to be shorter than the guy!" snorted Skuld, offering her unwilling trainee a sideways glance. "And speaking of that… oneesama's also taller than you, so, get used to it, pal!"

"That's… not what I meant." Letting out a heavy sigh, Keiichi relented and allowed Skuld to carry on with her so-called lesson, trying to ignore the fact that he was being taught by someone who most likely used _romance manga_ as reference. 'I'm _so_ doomed.'

Even though all they did was walk alongside, Keiichi felt deeply embarrassed by the mere fact that Skuld actually seemed more natural than he'd ever be. And while he hated to admit it, the Norn was also correct in her assumption that he needed some lessons, even if they were merely for the sake of making him less awkward around girls. 'Well, as long as it's something this simple. The moment she tries to pull anything funny, I'm outta here!'

It was about the tenth 'lap' as Keiichi liked to put it, even though the term was technically incorrect, that their so-called training session caught someone else's attention. Watching them with a neutral expression that slowly betrayed some curiosity, Ansuz momentarily shifted her gaze to check the now empty bottle, that was all what was left from yesterday's party and shook her head. 'I might need to drink more often with Urd-chan. She sure knows her stuff, it seems. And boy… that was some good stuff…' Setting the bottle aside, Ansuz waited for the two to reach the end of the room and turn around, only to come to a stop when they saw her. "You know, even though it's been a while, I don't think that's how tango works. For beginners, you should be facing each other."

Instead of an actual answer, the duo let out a startled -and quite loud- yelp, letting go each other, and in Keiichi's case, who was the closest to the nearby wall, that also included a hard collision with the aforementioned structure. And even though Skuld had been preparing for that outcome by merely stating the facts, she seemed awfully flustered to get caught doing something like that, by her mother nonetheless.

"Why would I even try that with Keiichi? I was trying to teach him how to do the simplest of things with oneesama! The rest of that stuff's not my business!" protested Skuld, as she put a safe distance between herself and the mortal, much to her mother's amusement.

"You know, even though I'd like to agree with you, Skuld, I also need to point out that I'm probably a better teacher for him," said the elder goddess, even pointing at herself for added effect. "And considering that you'll be able to meet up with Bell, later on today, I'd say we start with the lessons, _right now!_ "

"EH?! Now?... And…. with you?"

Frowning in a _very_ noticeable manner, Ansuz didn't even need to narrow her eyes to make her displeasure known, although that wasn't enough for her her; far from it. "What's up with that reaction? Do I look too plain for your exquisite tastes? Or maybe you prefer younger, single goddesses for your lessons? Well?"

"No, no! You'll be just fine!" said Keiichi, raising his hands in front of him, just to appease the teal haired goddess, before it was too late.

"Then, prepare yourself! We only have an hour or two before you need to head to Nekomi, and catch up with Belldandy after her rehearsal. So, pay close attention to what I'm about to teach you!" declared Ansuz with such force behind her words, that it was too hard for Keiichi to resist snapping a salute at her.

" _Yes, ma'am!_ "

XXX

"Let me get it straight… you came all the way to my room, just to complain about something _you_ should've done months ago?" Narrowing her eyes dangerously at the possessed Earth Spirit, the half demoness held her ground against her father, who apparently had to criticize her decisions, even now that she wasn't under his orders anymore. As a matter of fact, she was expecting some sort of reprimand, since even Lind seemed disappointed by her performance during that whole operation. Which was already enough of a headache for her to handle, even without her father making matters worse for her, and in the process test the Norn's patience.

"I'm well aware of your ire for that mortal, but don't let your emotions cloud your better judgment, Urd. While I must admit that I, too disliked that guy, my greatest priority at the time was to find a way for you to get out of here; which is exactly what I'm doing, even right now," explained Tyr, keeping his voice cool and collected, despite his daughter's accusatory tone. After all, there was nothing to be gained by picking a fight with her, especially now that they were finally close to bring this whole incident to an end, and he needed her cooperation more than anything else.

Biting back a rather harsh retort, when she felt that she's been patronized, Urd had to admit that at the very least, her father was right on one thing: she needed to prioritize, and picking a fight with Tyr, clearly wasn't on top of her to-do list. "Truth to be told, I never sent Lind to do away with that bastard, but merely oversee the whole operation, as I don't quite trust the rest of my… allies. And it was only thanks to that idiot's behavior that she ended up killing him herself; even if by accident."

No matter his personal opinions on the subject, Tyr had to go for a somewhat diplomatic approach, since sounding purely negative in his critique for her, would only end up pissing her off. "Still, it's fortunate that she managed to reunite with Skuld, and the same goes for you, of course. Your little sister greatly missed you."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at what she felt like an attempt to change the subject by bringing up her reunion with Skuld, the elder Norn couldn't help but throw a bit of a jab back at her father. "It was a pretty sweet reunion for sure. Well… it could've been even better if we had a _certain someone_ with us… but, I guess I shouldn't be asking for too much, right?"

"If that someone happens to be me… then I think you're forgetting that introducing me to Keiichi this early on, can be quite intimidating," said Tyr as he crossed his arms and shook his head at Urd's suggestion. "You see, in many human cultures, the meeting between the aspiring boyfriend and the girl's father carries a lot of meaning behind it, as it's a chance for the man to ask for permission to date his beloved. Now, do you think that they're close to do that?"

"Hell no!..." Letting out a heavy, sigh, the half demoness ruffled her long, platinum locks, and then snapped her fingers, causing a bottle of Sake to fly from all across the room, to her outstretched hand. Unscrewing the cap, Urd took a swing from its contents, before she paused and stared in her father's direction, holding out the bottle for him. "It's not much, but, how about a peace offering?"

Tyr studied his daughter's face for several tense seconds, giving no hints as to what his thoughts were, until he relented, and offered her a slow nod. Urd had always been pretty headstrong and passionate about everything she did, and that went twice when her sisters' well being was concerned. Not that he fully justified her actions; far from it. However, to keep reprimanding her, after she seemed to get his point, would turn out to be utterly counterproductive. After all, driving her to a corner when she was already under such pressure, would only force her to take even harsher decisions, and that was something, Tyr wished to avoid at all costs. While turning the converted goddess back their original state was a great challenge, the biggest problem with Urd was that in the end she might opt to remain a demoness; especially if she starts thinking that her father would punish her the moment she's under his jurisdiction once again.

So, to avoid driving his daughter away, Tyr decided to show some leniency, and accepted Urd's offering, summoning a cup for himself, in order for the Norn to pour him some Sake. "Thank you, Urd. By the way… have you arranged for them to meet once again?"

"Them? You mean… Bell and Keiichi? I sure did, but let me check something." For a moment, Urd set the bottle aside and reached into her top, retrieving her phone, that in reality acted as a terminal to the NIdhogg System, and checked her contacts for any updates. "Well… it seems that it's going to happen after all. In a couple of hours, Bell will be done with today's rehearsal, and right on time to meet up with Keiichi in a local cafe. From that point on, I suppose it's their business on how to proceed."

"Hm… so, you're not going to interfere?" asked the curious Daitenkaicho, finding it hard to believe that his eldest daughter suddenly decided to keep her nose out of what had the potential of becoming Belldandy's first relationship. "No offense, but, that's so unlike you, Urd."

"Yeah, yeah… whatever!..." Waving her hand dismissively to downplay the accuracy of her father's statement, Urd had to admit that she struggled hard to resist the urge to actually tail Belldandy, just to make sure that everything would go fine. However, by doing so, she might've ended up pushing too much for them to get into a relationship before they were actually ready for such a thing, and in the long run, ruin it for them. "Now, is there anything else you'd like to talk with me?"

"Well… actually there is. From what I've heard, Hagall's planning a big celebration for the third anniversary of her rise to power. So, I was wondering if you could give me a hand with something."

"Alright, tell me what you need."

XXX

Even though driving cars wasn't exactly his forte, given his preference for bikes, Keiichi had to admit that he had never driven a car like the one, Skuld built for him. For beginners, he wasn't totally sure whether he was driving the car, or he was merely relaying information to a computer, as its handling felt a bit weird at times. "Skuld… is it just me, or the car's compensating for every tiny error I make?" Granted, for the last couple of minutes, most of his errors were deliberate, just to test his theory that something was off with this car. However, phrasing it like this, Keiichi was almost certain that it wouldn't take much for Skuld to boast about her resourcefulness, if it actually turned out that she was behind that _feature's_ design.

Which, she totally did.

"Ha! You'd think that I'd make a dumb old car? Mr. Boxy Car might not look like it, but it has the best driver assistance system even seen the roads of Japan! Or… anywhere else on Earth for that matter!" said Skuld with such pride, that she totally missed the positively dirty look Keiichi was giving her.

'Thanks a lot for making driving a chore for me.' Rather than voicing such thoughts though, and make himself sound like a total jerk, Keiichi decided to push any objections aside and focus on the far more important task at hand; namely, finding something nice for himself to offer as a gift for Belldandy. "I kinda wish that your car could also come up with suggestions for gifts…"

"That's my job, you dummy," said Skuld, followed by a snort, as the goddess fiddled with her Time Accelerator Mk III to revert to her original age, much to Keiichi's initial confusion. "Stop staring at me like this. The last thing I want is to have everyone in the shop think that we're a couple or something."

"Yes, but… I've already been confused once for a gangster, and the last thing I need now is to be mistaken for a deviant," retorted Keiichi, as he exited the car as well, and then looked around to make sure that no one was staring directly at them. Yet as he was about to turn back to Skuld, the young goddess had already taken the liberty to seize him by the back of his polo shirt, and despite her small frame, effortlessly dragged him towards their first destination: the flower shop. 'Oh… shoot!...'

Feeling her captive mortal tense up, and pretty much attempt to anchor his feel on the sidewalk, much to the young Norn's chagrin. "Stop acting like a kid! And yes, I know how ironic it sounds, so, give me a break and accept your fate! We're starting by buying flowers!"

To say that Keiichi was far from looking forward to this -given how romantically inept he was- and not to mention shy, which made such a simple thing look like the hardest of tasks. Still, Keiichi had to admit that showing up empty-handed would've looked wrong, and as such he had to toughen it up, and endure what he knew that was going to be a thoroughly embarrassing experience. 'Oh, what the heck! I should've been doing this on my own, not have Skuld dragging me like this!'

Taking in a deep breath, Keiichi decided to rise up to the occasion, and demanded for Skuld to release him. "Okay, I think that's enough. I can walk on my own, you know. Besides, this is only going to slow us down."

Peering over her shoulder, Skuld studied the mortal's face for any signs of using this as an excuse, and finding none, she eventually let go of him, allowing the man to regain his composure.

And one final check, to make sure that his clothes didn't look all funny, Keiichi offered Skuld a nod, before he took the first step in the unknown; or at least what counted as such from his perspective.

XXX

Hours after she set off to tail the two former goddesses, the blonde demoness ended up in a rather quiet, yet busy cafe, that primarily aimed for a more sophisticated clientele; and far more affluent, too. It was apparently Peorth's suggestion to take Belldandy to this fine establishment, even though the vast majority of the patrons here were men. After all, that was typically the case with maid cafes.

'What a stupid getup! People actually _pay_ to have a bunch of girls act as if they're their maids? Seriously!...' Shaking her head in both disdain and amusement, Mara hurried to put the finishing touches to her disguise, which included a glamor spell to alter her natural hair color from blonde to almost pitch black, as well as hide her facial markings. While far from the most elaborate way to conceal her identity, this was still Mara's first attempt to follow her mother's footsteps, by acting like an intelligence officer. Even though to the average demon, Fehu appeared like a playful maid under Hild's employment, in reality she was a trained assassin and spy, with the latter role becoming far more prominent over the last couple of centuries.

A job, Mara never saw herself of taking up, until she actually watched her own reflection in the mirror and frowned. 'Am I really becoming like mom?' Briefly wondered the faux brunette, before she applied some lipstick and with one final check in the mirror, she turned around and exited the staff's changing room, heading towards what seemed to be the most popular spot on the whole cafe. With two celebrities chatting over a cup of Darjeeling tea, it didn't take long for the majority of the patrons, as well as some paparazzi who trailed them, to gather around their table in a desperate attempt to get a photo of Peorth and Belldandy's private lives.

Interestingly enough, all it took them was a mere request, and one after the other, the predominantly male crowd started to disperse, causing Mara's lips to curl up in a tiny smirk. 'Hm… control voice. Not bad for two goody-goody goddesses. Well… former goddesses, but it's not like they suddenly started to act all too differently, anyway.' Rather than walking straight at them, which would most certainly blow her cover, Mara bid her time, pretending to clean up a nearby table, all while keeping the two demonesses within her field of view.

At that exact moment, though, the sound of the cafe's door opening, distracted her enough to take a look in that direction, and for the next couple of seconds, Mara did her best not to burst into laughter.

Standing by the entrance was none other than the middle Norn's aspiring boyfriend, clad in the most expensive metallic grey colored business suit one could buy in Nekomi, along with equally classy black shoes, and even a rather unique 24 hour watch to complete his brand new look. And as if he didn't already seem so uncomfortable in that expensive suit, Keiichi was also holding a bouquet on one hand and a heart-shaped box of chocolates on the other.

'Well… would you look at that! From rags to riches as they say,' mused Mara with a content smirk on her face. 'Sure, it's over the top as Hell, but then again, it's better than coming here in his tasteless casual clothes. Perhaps he's not as much of a lost cause as I originally thought.' Happy to know that she wasn't stuck here on a fool's errand, Mara straightened herself up, and with a quick readjustment to her apron, just so that she displayed a bit more cleavage, the faux brunette approached Keiichi with a partially faked smile on her face. She was even surprised to see a few heads turn in her wake, given that she wasn't used to be the center of attention like this, despite the fact that the mortal she was interested in, didn't seem to actually notice her, keeping his eyes glued to the middle Norn instead.

As a result, Keiichi nearly jumped when Mara stopped right next to him and offered the new patron the customary 'Welcome, master' that every other waitress here was supposed to use as a greeting. And the moment he actually turned to the faux brunette, Keiichi felt the need to loosen up his neck tie, as not only did this 'maid' looked much more impressive compared to her coworkers, but she even went as far as to offer him a respectful bow, that allowed him to take a good glimpse of her cleavage.

'Whoa!... Remember why you're here, stupid!' Catching himself from getting too distracted by this maid's mannerisms, or even her apparel, Keiichi was about to excuse himself and walk around her, only to feel her pick up the bouquet, and urge him to follow her.

"This way, master! I know just the perfect place for you to find some privacy," said Mara, while pointing to the exact opposite direction from Belldandy's table, and right behind the inner stairway that led to the cafe's upper floor. As a matter of fact, the table was mostly masked by the aforementioned stairs, making it harder for the rest of the customers, and even staff to see anyone sitting here, which was partially the reason why most others didn't find it favorable; unless they wanted one thing: privacy. However, in order to give him a hint as to what she was trying to do, Mara actually decided to drop him a hint, just in case he ended up resisting too much and either ruin her carefully laid out plan, or just march over to Belldandy, and get lynched by the mob of fans surrounding her table. "After all, when trying to ask such a popular woman out, it's for the best to keep a low profile."

"Huh? How did you?..."

"Know?" finished Mara for the stunned Keiichi, offering him a coy wink and then pulled the chair back for him to take a seat. "Well, if it wasn't for the overly formal attire and gifts you brought with you, that screamed 'date material' all over them, then it would've been the fact that you kept staring at her, the moment you arrived." Pointedly glancing in Belldandy's direction, just so that Keiichi would know what she was talking about, Mara waited for him to look back at her, before she carried on. "Which… can be a pretty bad idea, if you head over there and try to flirt with her, right in front of all those other guys."

Try as he might, Keiichi couldn't see a fault in the woman's logic, as there was still a small crowd around the demoness' table, and he could easily imagine that they wouldn't appreciate any attempt of his, to get familiar with Belldandy. And given that this maid had been unexpectedly helpful so far, Keiichi risked listening to her opinion, as Skuld was still waiting for him outside the cafe, just to follow after them, once they took off for the main part of the date. Which, actually made it too difficult to ask for her opinion at the time being. "Do you know what I should do?"

"Actually, it's quite simple! I'll get her a cup of tea, and say that it's from you. Even though it's a bit cliched, I suppose that's an easy way of informing her that you're here, and not to mention, as long as you stay out of sight from the others, no one would ever find out where she went," said Mara, before she pointed over Keiichi's left shoulder. "After all, the ladies' room is in that direction, and no one's going to suspect why she headed that way. The only thing left, is to grab the opportunity, and once she's here, you two can slip out of the cafe, and leave everyone waiting."

Offering her a nod, Keiichi watched the disguised demoness as she hurried back to grab a cup of tea for both him and Belldandy, yet was blissfully unaware that the demoness didn't quite tell him the full story. As a matter of fact, the moment Mara got out of Keiichi's sight, she reached into her cleavage and under the guise of fixing her attire, the faux brunette pulled out a marron pill and making sure that the rest of the staff didn't notice, dropped it into Keiichi's empty cup. Then, after she got one more, this time meant for Belldandy, the demoness poured hot tea in both of them, causing the pill in Keiichi's cup to fizz as it rapidly dissolved into the green tea, leaving no trace of its existence, aside perhaps for a bitter aftertaste. But with this particular beverage being already bitter to begin with, all Mara needed was an extra sugar cube, just to overcompensate for that fact.

First on the list was Keiichi, as Mara found it much safer to hand him the spiked cup of tea, before moving on to offer Belldandy hers. "There you go. Now, remember to act cool and collected, and invite her to your table, okay?"

"Uh… sure thing," replied Keiichi as calmly as he could. Even though he still had some reservations whether he could successfully pull this off without making a fool of himself, Keiichi was certain that this was all due to his own insecurities. Taking a long sip from his tea to calm his nerves, the nervous mortal had to remind himself that he wasn't just like those other guys who drooled at Peorth and Belldandy, since he couldn't care any less for the latter's status and popularity; and not to mention anything about her money either. 'Huh… she really put a lot of sugar in the tea. I hope Belldandy doesn't mind it.'

As if by a huge coincidence, the Norn chose that very moment to turn in his direction, causing his heart to race in anticipation for her reaction to the offered tea. Despite this being far from the first time he was going to interact with her, and not to mention that he already knew that she liked him, Keiichi couldn't help but feel anxious when the Norn simply gave him a blank look. Sure enough though, Belldandy's face light up in recognition, as she probably didn't recognize him due to his current outfit, and without much hesitation she excused herself to Peorth, who winked at her, as the Norn got up from her chair and made an attempt to head in his direction, yet without drawing too much attention to herself.

Due to that, Belldandy didn't immediately approach him, as such a move would prove too problematic, and instead she headed for the ladies' room. Realizing the necessity of such action, Keiichi simply relaxed and mouthed a ' _thank you_ ' to the helpful maid, before he resumed drinking his tea. 'Hm… is it just me, or the room's warmer all of a sudden. Maybe I should've asked for a cold beverage, instead…' Tugging slightly at his shirt's collar, Keiichi felt as if his brain was about to boil, and for a moment considered asking Skuld's help, but given that the young Norn was still outside of the cafe, that was simply out of question. So, without any other option at the time being, Keiichi simply fanned himself with a hand, hoping that it was just his anticipation of meeting Belldandy, that was starting to affect him.

Thankfully though, the aforementioned demoness didn't take too long to emerge from the ladies' room, even though she's been biding her time for appearance's sake. Yet, instead of heading back to Peorth, Belldandy took a different path and ended up next to Keiichi's table, causing him to almost jump when he felt her hand on his shoulder.

"Hello, Keiichi!" whispered the clearly enthusiastic Norn, as she went ahead and took a seat opposite of him, making sure not to make the others take notice of her. "Sorry for keeping my voice down like this, but…"

"We have an audience, I know," finished Keiichi for her and then let out a heavy sigh. "Truth to be told, I would've preferred to meet you in a more private setting, but that's the best I could do. Oh, and before I forgot, these are for you!" Grasping the bouquet with shaking hands, Keiichi offered it to the delighted Norn, along with the heart-shaped box of chocolates and waited for her reaction.

"Why, it's so nice of you!" beamed the clearly excited Belldandy, who actually struggled to keep her voice down as she took hold of the thoughtful gifts. Of course, it wasn't the material goods themselves -no matter how lovely they were- that Belldandy truly cared for, but the feelings and symbolism behind such a gesture that touched her, instead. "I'm so happy to see you once again, Keiichi! And I must admit that I like your new look!"

The complement brought a healthy blush on Keiichi's cheeks, but for an unknown reason he didn't feel as nervous as he was before, so, rather than panic, Keiichi calmly returned her smile with one of his own. "Skuld insisted that I just had to wear something less… _dorky…_ so, here I am, as suave as always!"

Belldandy stared at him for a short while, before she started to giggle, causing Keiichi to join in too, with a chuckle of his own. "You know, Keiichi… I would've never called you a dork, although my little sister is a totally different subject altogether. Still, it's nice to see you trying new things. And speaking of which… Should we ditch this place? I don't think that we're going to find any privacy in here."

Remembering the maid's words, as well as stealing a glance towards the tables in the distance, Keiichi had to admit that staying here was simply out of question. "I'll have to agree. How about we go to a quieter place? Somewhere far from the prying eyes of your fans."

"Says my number one fan…" commented Belldandy with a slight wink, before she got up and gestured for the mortal to follow her. And as if that wasn't enough, Belldandy reached back to grasp his hand, causing him to blush as she led him out of the cafe. "Or am I assuming too much?"

"No, not at all." Watching as Belldandy shrunk his gifts, in order to stash them into her bag, Keiichi tried to come up with a proper place to take her, yet not one that's ridiculously crowded. After all, trying to date a celebrity in plain view was going to be far more difficult than he had even imagined, especially since every little mistake on his part could end up in a huge scandal of sorts. However, before he had the chance to voice his concerns, Keiichi heard Belldandy snap her fingers, and as he turned to see what was going on, he almost froze at the sight of the fiery redhead standing next to him. She even had her hair out of that ponytail, even though those little antennae-like bangs were still present. Still, with another snap of her fingers, Belldandy had a black beret on her head, which proved more than enough to hide those unruly bangs. And to leave nothing to chance, she even reached into her bag for a pair of sunglasses, that made it rather hard for anyone to instantly recognize her, especially when her markings vanished all of a sudden.

"Oh, I'm sorry if this was too sudden, but I need a disguise or everyone within eyesight of us will immediately find out who I am," explained Belldandy with a smile, as she reassuringly squeezed Keiichi's hand. "Don't worry, though. I'm still the same person, regardless of how I look."

"I… I know," said Keiichi once he managed to remember how to talk once again, his eyes still finding it hard to adjust to the sight of Belldandy's disguise. "It's just that, you suddenly look like a totally different person. And to be honest with you, I really like your normal appearance. You're quite beautiful like that, although… I do get your point."

Smiling at the almost unexpected compliment, Belldandy waited for them to properly exit the cafe, before she fully turned to face him, and while he wondered what was amiss, she leanied in and kissed him fully on the lips.

Three sets of eyes widened in response to the spectacle, especially when Keiichi didn't quite back off, but leaned into the kiss, going as far as to reach around to support the Norn's neck as they two of them hugged each other.

Yet for a certain disguised maid, the surprise was due to a very different reason, compared to the others. 'Holy!... I didn't think that the courage booster would've been this effective! Look at him kiss her like that! Who would've thought that something I bought on the Demons' Telemarketing service would be this good! Hm... I should start buying more often from there.'

Meanwhile, not far from the kissing couple, the youngest of the Norns watched the unfolding scene with mixed feelings, as part of her was elated that things were looking up for her sister, yet… a different part of her, still couldn't ignore the need to protect her 'Big Sister' from Keiichi's grabby hands. Which, of course wasn't the case, given that the mortal had the best of intentions towards her, but, this was one of those cases where old habits died hard.

'Can't believe that I'm still acting like a brat. As much as I try to look and act like an adult, in the end, it seems that I haven't changed all that. Perhaps, I need to try harder to give them a hand, before I end up going back to my old habits. Although… how am I supposed to do that? Actually… what, Urd would've done in my place? Hm...'

XXX

Tossing a handful of popcorn into her mouth, the eldest Norn watched the progress of her sister's date on her TV, from the convenience of her own hotel suite, instead of following them throughout their entire date. Still, if Urd had to be honest with herself, this was far from the preferable method of handling this whole subject, except the fact that the half demoness' self confidence in her decisions was rather low at the time being.

No matter how tough she acted in front of her father, Urd could tell that her decision to get rid of that mortal pest -and in such a fashion too- was far from ideal, and to make matters worse, Lind remained rather quiet about it; almost too much, even by her standards. To say that she may've done a mistake would've been the understatement of the year, and while few other demons even cared about a lousy pest to the likes of Aoshima… a goddess should've remained more objective and contain her wrath, even if her ire was totally justified.

Perhaps more than anything, Urd didn't want to mess up Belldandy's chances with Keiichi in the event she made another poor decision, and attempted to help them get closer, only to end up accomplishing the exact opposite. Even so, this was far from a permanent solution, as the last thing she needed was to distance herself from her sisters, just for their own safety, so, her biggest priority right now was to sort her thoughts out and reconsider her priorities.

At that very moment though, Urd's thoughts were interrupted by an urgent knock on her door, causing her to take a sharp breath, since she had a very good idea of whom this must've been. "The door's open!" she called, turning off the TV in preparation for what she thought to be the inevitable: namely, her meeting with Lind, who had deliberately kept herself busy for as long as she could.

Quite unsurprisingly, it was indeed the blue haired demoness who walked into the room, yet frustratingly enough, Lind's stoic expression offered the Norn little insight as to her state of mind. However, once she came to a stop before the Norn, Lind's brows furrowed into a clearly noticeable scowl, leaving Urd with little doubt as to what was going on, and more importantly, who was responsible for it.

"Lind, I-"

"Spare yourself the trouble, as well as our time," came the almost abrupt reply, as the former Valkyrie was clearly in no mood for small talk. "Nothing good will come out of arguing about something we've both screwed up, as I too lost my temper, back there. Especially when my training had prepared me to deal with even worse situations like that, and yet I somehow ended up doing the exact opposite. Still, that's not an excuse to keep making mistakes, and right now, the best we can do is focus on one problem at a time."

"Okay… And what would that problem be?" asked Urd, almost fearing that the answer would be _you_ , followed by either a verbal or worse, physical assault. However, what came next was something the Norn would've never considered even as the most remote possibility.

"We've lost track of that mortal's corpse. It seems that once he sank into the ocean, someone removed him from the scene, and I fear I have a good idea who that might be."

Scowling, the Norn also had a fairly good idea as to who Lind was referring to, and coupled by the fact that Velsper was unaccounted for, she didn't need to hear any more. "That's it! We're going after them, but this time, let's do things right, okay?"

"Right after you."

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

Although I wanted to feature Keiichi and Belldandy's date on this chapter, I decided to use this to wrap things up from the previous one, and lead up to the point where they're about to head off. Fear not though, as I will most certainly dedicate most of the next chapter on the date.

Unsurprisingly, Urd isn't just about to get away with her way of using excessive force to deal with her problems, but for the time being, Lind has no reason to get into direct conflict with her. I cannot promise that this won't happen at some point, however. Still, they're going to be somewhat busy trying to find what happened to Aoshima's body, that's been snatched by Welsper and Sokkmimir, and even brought back to life. For a price.

Mara also had a role here, which I believe is outside of her norm, considering that she's still under her mother's orders to help the couple. Which she did, even though in a somewhat less cheesy way than a love goddess would've done in her place, and not just because she's a demoness herself.


	12. Chapter 12

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

Compared to all the crazy things Keiichi had come to experience as of late, walking side by side with Belldandy was a much welcomed change of pace. The supernatural beauty attached to his arm was a woman that Keiichi would've never dreamed of dating in the past, and the fact that she was so openly affectionate towards him was a much appreciated bonus, even though it earned him so many envious glares from random bystanders. Although at the same time, it almost felt… good in a way. Actually, it was more than that, since for the first time, someone felt envious of him, and for a good measure too, as the faux redhead -due to Belldandy's need to conceal her real identity- latched herself on his arm in a manner that was felt as if it was straight out of the pages of some cheesy romance manga.

To put it plainly, Keiichi's left arm was squeezed into Belldandy's cleavage; and it that wasn't enough, the generous decolletage allowed so much skin contact that caused the poor mortal to blush brighter than a stop light.

Of course, the Norn's reasoning for changing her attire was to throw off anyone who might've thought that she looked familiar from somewhere, yet despite that, it was no secret that she had other motives as well. "Keiichi! What do you think about that?"

"Huh?..." Shaking his head, the clearly distracted mortal realized that he must've spaced out at some point and trying not to admit it, he immediately followed Belldandy's gaze and cheerfully told her that it was simply perfect… even before he actually got a glimpse of what the demoness was referring to. Only to find out that, Belldandy was pointing at a rather daring two piece bikini, put on display in a nearby shop. The swimsuit in question may had a deceptively nondescript design, but the skin coverage it provided was definitely below average, making Keiichi blush just at the idea of Belldandy walking around in it.

"Then how about I buy it rather quickly, and then head to the local pool? I love swimming, but never had the chance to do so, since I've arrived here," suggested the demoness of the present, totally missing Keiichi's worried look, as she kept her eyes on the shop's window display.

"Ah… yes, that would be nice," said Keiichi hesitatingly, given that despite how embarrassing it was for him to admit it, he couldn't swim for the love of his life. As a matter of fact, he was so bad, that even keeping himself from sinking like a stone was a struggle, and not to mention trying to keep up with someone who actually knew how to swim. However, the last thing Keiichi wanted right now was to sound like a joykill and deny Belldandy the chance to do something she enjoyed. Of course, it went without saying that he was bound to regret this decision, and not just that, but end up making a fool of himself right in front of his date. 'Heh… I still can't believe that I've got a date. Better not mess it up, or I might never get a second chance.'

Totally missing Keiichi's nervous expression, Belldandy almost dragged him along, and unwittingly make matters far worse for him in the process. After all, they were inside a shop that was exclusively geared towards a female clientele, and the wares put in display made her companion's face turn into a peculiar shade of red, almost resembling some lingerie they've walked past on the way to the swimsuit section. Even then, Keiichi was far from safe, as many of the designs in display were suggestive enough to excite a man's imagination, despite being worn by mannequins. Still, almost as if totally oblivious to his discomfort, Belldandy turned to the admittedly embarrassed man and offered him one of her brightest smiles. "So, what would you like me to wear, Keiichi? Personally, I prefer one piece swimsuits, but… I'd rather pick something a bit more special for our date. So… feel free to offer a suggestion, and we'll see if that looks good on me."

Nodding ever so slowly, Keiichi took a glimpse of the available bikini designs, and if he was stressed out before, he now felt like wanting to scream. Even if there were many 'normal' choices to pick from, he worried that such a thing would indirectly imply that he didn't think that Belldandy was charming enough to wear something more audacious. Yet at the same time, picking something too revealing could give her the idea that deep down, he was no better than that Aoshima creep. As such, Keiichi went for a bit of a compromise, and pointed at a lovely, white side tie bikini that provides less coverage than some other designs, and yet nowhere as much as the most provoking pieces here. "How about that one?"

"My!... What a wonderful suggestion!" beamed Belldandy, clapping her hands in sheer delight at the suggestion, yet the moment she turned back to Keiichi, the corner of her lips tugged into a cheeky grin. "That's a keeper for sure, but… I'll have to go and pick another one for later. And… now that I think of it, I won't even let you see me wearing either, until we hit the pool. Better to keep it for a surprise, right?"

"S-Sure thing, Bell-" said Keiichi, before the Norn shushed him with a hand wave, and following her look, he quickly understood why. They were surrounded by more than enough people who might recognize Belldandy if they heard her name, despite her current disguise.

"Please, don't call out my name that loudly," said Belldandy, carefully looking around them to see if anyone took notice of her presence. Finding none, however, the disguised demoness let out a sigh of relief and leaned closer to Keiichi. "Besides… it's perfectly fine calling me _honey_ , or _sweetheart_ if you want."

No matter how much, Keiichi tried to maintain a neutral expression at the sound of those words, it was almost impossible for the once unpopular mortal to avoid blushing like a schoolboy on their first date. Which… to a certain degree was quite fitting, given that this was actually a real date, instead of just spending some time with her, like a mere acquaintance. "That… would be really nice, actually. It… might be a bit soon, but, if you insist, I'd love to call you… um… that? Uh… I mean… Right, _love?_ "

The Norn suppressed a giggle, as she watched Keiichi struggle with the words, trying to overcome his natural shyness in order to act the boyfriend's part. "Keiichi, as long as you don't call me baby, I'm all game. And stop being this nervous all the time. It's not like I'm going to bite your head off, you know! I'm not that cruel, even as a demoness… at least to those I like."

Fearing that he was in no state of mind to offer a proper reply -given how embarrassed he was at the moment- Keiichi watched Belldandy saunter into the changing room, and only then did he managed to regain his composure. Above all, though, Keiichi needed to form a plan to spare himself the even greater embarrassment once they reached the pool. And before long, the dark haired mortal had an idea that might as well spare him from this predicament.

XXX

A fair distance outside of Nekomi proper, two women gazed out at the sea from their vantage point at the very edge of the sheer cliffside overlooking the bay. Yet neither of them was here to enjoy the picturesque landscape, as they were plagued with more questions that anyone could provide answers for; or rather, they didn't quite like the implications behind the most plausible explanations.

Stepping forward until she almost reached the very edge of the cliff, Urd came to a stop and scanned her surroundings for the slightest of indications as to who tampered with this burial site. After all, it was still a bit too soon for human authorities to recover Aoshima's body, when in reality they had no idea where Lind dumped him. Most of the police's public announcement was the result of her request for their Intelligence Sector to clear up Keiichi's name, and not beyond that. Which, plainly put, meant that the mortals knew almost nothing about Aoshima's final resting place, although… it was more than apparent that someone did. However, it was also obvious that there was something else amiss here, although this time, finding answers was going to be much easier. "Lind… did you cast any powerful spell before leaving this place?"

Thinking back to that fateful incident, the former Valkyrie slowly shook her head, as she had no reason to even suspect that either she or the demon that accompanied her had something to do with this. "No, not really. The whole idea was to simply dump the corpse into the ocean, as if he drove off the cliff, and that didn't require any magic at all."

The casual tone of Lind's voice as she spoke of Aoshima's fate, caused Urd's hair to stand, yet the half demoness didn't dare to comment about it. After all, it was her own brilliant idea to off the pesky mortal, and one that she ended up getting some flack from her father, as well as Lind herself. "Right… Then I suppose we need to start looking for clues as to who did this. Because, someone definitely got here after you left, and stole the body from the car. And since the car is still underwater, I guess that rules out humans as the culprits."

"Which leaves us with either the gods or the demons. And with so many of the latter posted here, I suppose that rules out the gods too. I seriously doubt that Asgard would risk a confrontation over a demon collaborator, instead of us. So, that pretty much leaves only one realistic possibility… which is none of our business," concluded Lind, keeping her voice level at all times. The last thing they really needed right now was to end up getting involved in a demonic plot, and in the process lose focus on their utmost priority: to go back to Asgard.

Missing her point though, Urd let out a frustrated sigh, and stared back in the direction of the submerged car. "That's what we needed right now… I thought that I was done with those bloody rebels, but it looks like there are more of them." Even though the term _rebels_ wasn't exactly official, it was almost ubiquitously used these days to describe anyone who basically wasn't a supporter of the former Daimakaicho, and either allied with her de facto successor, or simply wished play along until they found the perfect opportunity to steal the position from Hagall. While having a second rebellion in such a short period of time was unheard of, that also largely depended on the current Daimakaicho's power and charisma; both which Hagall severely lacked in equal measures, making her look weak to those who coveted her position. And that was something Urd didn't wish to happen, no matter what. Even though there was no love lost between her and that blasted blonde, Urd had to admit that after the mess Hagall made early on during her rise to power, she begrudgingly came to realize the error of her ways, and immediately changed her entire governing style in an attempt to follow her old mentor's footsteps. Unfortunately, if someone else in her position insisted on carrying on like that, a war was nothing less but a certainty, as the celestials would have no other way but to fight back the infernals' attempt to establish total dominion over the mortal realm.

While Urd seemed to be lost at thought, occasionally mumbling about something that Lind couldn't quite make out, the former Valkyrie felt that her associate wasn't really paying attention to a thing she said, or simply didn't care. According to the rumors she heard back in Asgard, Urd was the exchanger of goals and means, who more than often had the tendency to get caught so much in those means that nothing else would matter to her. "Urd, in case I didn't make myself clear enough, we need to focus on finding a way to get our angels back, rather than playing some pointless power game. So, I won't repeat myself; we retrieve our angels, and get out of here. Nothing more, nothing less."

"And then _what?_ " pointedly asked Urd, refusing to back off from what she knew that could potentially escallate into a full blown argument. "Leave the demons fight an unavoidable civil war? Because there's no way Hagall will remain in power for too long, and no matter how much we want it, there's no way to ignore such a threat. After all… if demons start to die left and right… you know what's gonna happen, do you?"

"That, I do." As much as she didn't want to admit it, they've reached a standstill, and one that Lind didn't know how to get out of, given that her primary skills were mostly geared towards combat, instead of negotiations. "Still, I'm not convinced that playing along forever is the solution, either. So, to spare me from keeping up the charade like this… how about you tell me what you really got in mind? Surely you don't plan to become the next Daimakaicho, do you?"

"Actually… I do," said Urd in a moment of brutal honesty, causing her blue haired associate to curiously look at her. And knowing all too well that Lind was expecting some form of explanation, Urd took a breath and then resumed. "While it's true that getting our angels back is our number one priority, so is keeping this situation from ending up in a huge disaster. And there's no better way to do that by releasing my mother. Which…. of course means that-"

"That you need to become the Daimakaicho, first. Very well, I see no reason to oppose you, so I'll lend you a hand, instead." The moment she said that, Lind watched Urd's expression relax considerably. Gone was the tension that was more than evident moments ago, and the half demoness even reached to place a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Lind. I know that this isn't enough, but… I'll try to make up to you, somehow. In the meantime though, how about we get out of here?"

"Understood."

XXX

No sooner the seemingly odd couple entered the swimming pool area, Keiichi was nearly overcome by the sheer number of envious looks aimed at him, as the incredulous crowd of onlookers couldn't believe what they were seeing. A seemingly bland, short guy with a forgettable face was being accompanied by a downright gorgeous woman, who despite her disguise to maintain her anonymity, had managed to attract a crowd. After all, it was hard for them to ignore the fiery redhead with a figure that most supermodels would kill for, although for the very same reasons, it was to ignore the guy holding her hand as they walked towards the pool.

Still, as much as Belldandy tried to ignore them, it was starting to affect Keiichi's mood, and that was more than enough to piss her off. So much so, that the vitriolic look she gave to some of them promised great pain and suffering if they didn't find something else to preoccupy themselves with, rather than gawking at her. "Pay them no mind, Keiichi. I didn't come here to flirt with random strangers, so, for me they're all but invisible. Or should I say… irrelevant? Either way, pretend that they don't exist, and let us spend some quality time together."

The dark haired mortal blinked in mixed awe and a tiny dose of fear. Well, perhaps fear wasn't quite the word he would've used to describe this emotion, but for Keiichi it was quite amazing to see how stern Belldandy could get when provoked. Even if he knew that this was partially due to her current nature as a demoness, Keiichi had to admit that he didn't terribly mind this more forceful aspect of her personality. 'It's impressive how strong willed she really is. Even after all that happened to her, she's still so assertive when she needs to.' Realizing that he was staring, Keiichi averted his gaze and searched for a quiet corner for them to sit. Although most people came here to swim, there was a row of recliners on either side of the pool, that visitors could use when they wanted to take a break and relax. "Then, how about we-" Before he could even offer his suggestion, however, Keiichi found himself falling into the pool, being shoved by a giggling Belldandy of all people.

Worse yet, it didn't take long for Keiichi's ineptitude at swimming to prevent him from keeping his head above the water, and as if that wasn't enough, he had fallen in the deep end of the pool. Yet, as his eyes opened wide from the panic of finding himself in such an unexpected situation, Keiichi saw someone slide into the water in an expertly executed dive not too far from him. Slowly the air bubbles around the lithe, and clearly feminine form, revealing none other than Belldandy who was surfacing from right underneath him, and in the process she came so close to his body that he could almost feel her skin brush against his. Under any other circumstances, even this amount of contact would've sent shivers down his spine, but at the time being it brought great relief, since the Norn wrapped her arms around him and forced the sinking Keiichi up to the surface.

Emerging from the pool with a loud splash, Belldandy arched her back to throw her hair over her shoulders, and then looked at the stunned Keiichi who was still trying to catch his breath. "Did I go too overboard, Keiichi?" asked the Norn while tightening her grip around the mortal's torso, mostly to reassure him that he was safe. "I thought it was better if we spent some time swimming together. And while it seems that you're not too comfortable being in water, the best way to overcome that fear is by facing it. Don't worry though, I won't leave your side, Keiichi, so you can relax."

"Ah… t-thank you, B-Belldandy," muttered Keiichi with some effort, as he was far too embarrassed to come up with a better response. After all, he never thought that the Norn of the present could get this forward with him, given how reserved she seemed during his past interactions with her. It almost felt as if this was a different Belldandy, although at the same time the familiar gentleness in her voice reassured him that deep down, this was the same woman he came to like.

Still, a less kind person could perceive this gesture as a cheap excuse for Belldandy to impress her date with her physique, given how intimately she held him against her. 'Holy crap… I never thought that the day would come when Belldandy pulls the _marshmallow hell routine_ on someone! Okay, maybe it's not the full experience, as she's only hugging him tightly, rather than bury his face in her cleavage, but… Damn!' Witnessing this scene from a safe distance, to avoid detection, Mara was finding it hard to believe that this woman was the same, prudish Norn of the present she knew. Sure, she did act the same for the most part, yet there were occasions -like right now- where the Norn would display a side of her that no one had seen before. 'I wonder… was she always like that, or is it her demonic nature affecting her? Although, she seemed to act like a goddess on every other occasion, so… maybe this is indeed her own personality. After all, she never had a boyfriend before, which makes it hard to figure out if this is any different from her norm.'

The blonde's musings were interrupted when she sensed a demonic presence behind her; one that was accompanied by a series of wolf whistles that made her curious enough to turn around to find out what was going on. However, the moment she did, Mara's eyes went wide from the shock of finding her mother standing not further than a couple of meters away, and dressed in something that barely passed as a red micro bikini that complimented her auburn hair. "MO-... What are _you_ doing here?!" asked Mara, catching herself before she shouted their relation for the mortals around them to hear. Especially given how unlikely it would've sounded for someone as 'young' as Fehu to have a daughter Mara's perceived age, despite the fact that from their perspective, they were both older than any human present, and by a huge margin too. "I thought that your job was to stay behind and take care of Urd's business? So, why are you here, and on top of that… wearing this thing?!"

"One thing at a time, dear! Let's not get too excited, alright?" said Fehu, before pulling her daughter aside, just in case Belldandy noticed them. "Now, for beginners, Urd summoned me here to discuss business, so, here I am. Of course, I had to check on you first, Ma-chan, so I told her that I was planning to take a short detour. You know… to give her some time to go through all the documents I brought back with me."

There was something definitely suspicious about the way her mother was acting, as the playfulness in her voice was a clear indication that she had something in mind. While Fehu was as mischievous as any other demoness, Mara knew her mother better than that, so she refused to buy that excuse. "Come on, stop screwing with me. What's going on here?"

Even though Fehu initially seemed quite annoyed by her daughter's response, she did eventually relax and smiled at her. It was nice to know that her impulsive child finally learned how to use her head, and analyze a situation, rather than jumping to the first thing that comes to her mind. "Well, well… looks like you've grown up a bit, Mara. Good for you." Pausing for a moment to look around them, Fehu motioned for her daughter to follow, and led her to the girls' changing rooms.

XXX

It took Keiichi a while to adjust in the weird sensation of floating in water, but the moment he stopped worrying about drowning, he began to actually enjoy the time he spent with Belldandy. Of course, it went without saying that the Norn was a much more proficient swimmer than most of the mortals present in the pool, yet even then she tried to keep up with his frustratingly slow pace. It wasn't a joke that his swimming technique was strongly reminiscent of a dog's, and even then, one that didn't know how to stay afloat, but in the end, Keiichi managed to overcome this hurdle in order to do something together with his date. 'Wow… I still can't believe I'm actually on a date. Although, what now? Shouldn't I try to take her to romantic places and such? I mean, this is a pool, so maybe I should pick a better place next? Although… were to?...'

The faux redhead paused and stared at the totally distracted Keiichi, who for the love of his life didn't see where he was going. 'He's going to hit on the edge of the pool. Are all mortal men this distracted while on a date? Somehow I don't think so, but… oh well. I need to stop him before he hits his head.' Diving underwater, Belldandy overpassed Keiichi from his right and then reemerged right in front of him, thinking that this was enough to make him notice her. "Keiichi, you're-" The Norn didn't have the chance to finish her sentence though, as Keiichi promptly run onto her, and much to her surprise, ended up in a fairly compromising position that looked almost out of a manga.

'Huh? What's that soft… pair of… of…' Keiichi's eyes went wide from the realization that he somehow found himself in Belldandy's bosom, and worse yet, his whole body went totally rigid, causing him to almost go under, before Belldandy caught him and brought him to the surface once more.

"Goodness gracious, Keiichi! Pay more attention to your surroundings! And remember to stay afloat at all times," chided Belldandy in a stern yet kind manner. Although, despite the seriousness in her voice, the Norn's cheeks turned slightly pink from the sensation of that little contact moments ago. 'It's… not bad. Kinda ticklish, and sort of embarrassing, but I won't complain. Oh, who am I kidding, _that was awesome!..._ There, I said it.'

"S-Sorry about that, Bell- mphh?!" Finding the demoness' hand against his mouth, Keiichi realized that he had forgotten that he wasn't supposed to use her name in a public location, and slowly nodded. "Once again… I'm sorry. I guess I'm really not good at this… dating thing…"

"What makes you say that?" asked Belldandy after she looked both ways to make sure that no one overheard them. "I'm having a great time, although I have to admit that it was a bit selfish of me to suggest a place where I could have most of the fun. So, how about we now go to somewhere you might like?"

"That's fine. But… aren't you… angry?" Even though a part of him was screaming inside his head to drop this topic like a hot potato, Keiichi still found it strange that she didn't show any significantly negative reaction to his… accident. 'Is she really cool with all that, or she thinks I'm totally harmless? As in… not being able to do anything at all?' While his main interest in Belldandy wasn't of a physical nature, Keiichi didn't seem to like the idea that he was dismissed like this, especially given his own history of being ignored by the majority of women he knows.

"Not the slightest bit, Keiichi. I can tell an accident from something totally intentional, and even then, it depends on _who_ tries it. It's only natural that I won't allow just about everyone to cop a feel, yet… I wouldn't mind it if that was you, Keiichi." Just as the words left her mouth, the Norn felt like mentally kicking herself for how awkward that must've sounded. In reality, Belldandy had no idea how to offer compliments to a boyfriend -provided that Keiichi now counted as one- as her most typical responses would've been either too friendly, just too formal. "No, wait! I didn't mean it like that! I mean… it's not that I don't like the idea of you touching me, but… it's too forward? Not for you! I mean, I'm not generally shoving my boobs at other people! That's Neesan's shtick! Wait! I'm not implying she's loose or something, but… but… I'm not good at this, am I?" admitted the frustrated Norn, as her face fell; and yet somehow her incoherent rambling somehow made Keiichi laugh. "Uh… did I say anything funny?"

"No, I guess… it makes me feel easier to know that I'm not the only one who's not sure what to do in a situation like this," nervously admitted Keiichi, feeling that it was necessary to be absolutely honest with her, than try to say something that merely sounded nice. "Dunno, in a way it makes you more… human?" wondered Keiichi aloud, until her realized that this must've sounded a bit offensive to her, and made an effort to correct himself. "Wait! What I meant to say was… more relatable, or something like that. I guess, I didn't choose the right words."

"Actually, I know what you mean, Keiichi. You may have never seen my old self, but you'd be surprised how people looked up at me as an example to follow. I know it sounds rather conceited when I put it like this, but that was more or less the case. As long as I followed our ideals to the letter, I was seen as the perfect goddess; a status few of my fellow compatriots got to enjoy. Yet, as difficult as that sounded to accomplish in the first place, once I did gain that stellar reputation, things… became all too easy from that point on. Few celestials would question my judgment, and even fewer would actually antagonize me," said Belldandy with a heavy sigh, while she helped him to get out of the pool. She wasn't exactly surprised to see him stare at her in wonder, as she didn't quite act like her usual, reserved self. However, considering that she somehow found it easier to let this out of her chest today, Belldandy carried on. "As a result of all that, I grew up with the false impression that I was always right, and that I instantly knew what to do under any circumstances, no matter how inexperienced I truly was."

"Uh… I'm sorry if I missed something obvious here, but… what does all that has with me not being good with words?" wondered Keiichi out loud, interrupting the middle Norn after he listened to her tirade for a while.

"It does, because for the most part I relied a bit too much on knowledge that wasn't mine, Keiichi." Pursing her lips in a thin line, Belldandy knew that the more she carried on with this line of thinking, the less sense she made for Keiichi, so, she tried to simplify matters to him. "Let's put it this way: If I read every book on Engineering, as well as every technical manual there is, to the point of memorizing them by heart, do you think that I'd be able to call myself a skilled mechanic?"

For a moment, Keiichi scratched his head and pondered upon the Norn's words, until he simply spoke out his mind, having no other idea as to what to say in a situation like this. "Huh… Well, the knowledge would've been rather useful to say the least, but… it's also about hands on experience."

"Exactly. And no matter how important my lessons were, they still didn't provide me with a hands on experience in life, I'm afraid. You can say that I'm nowhere as mature as others like to think, especially while I'm experiencing something totally new," said Belldandy, averting her gaze as her cheeks started to redden. "Like now, for example. I really have no idea how dates are meant to work, and I nearly drowned you because I'm daft."

"That's _not_ true, Belldandy!" objected Keiichi a bit louder than he probably intended, causing several heads to turn in their direction, much to his own embarrassment. Taking Belldandy by the hand, he dragged her to a quiet corner where they could get some privacy, and in the meanwhile regain his composure as his impulsive moment of assertiveness left the Norn in a stunned state. "Ah… heh heh… sorry about that." Clearing his throat, Keiichi desperately tried to come up with something to say, considering that Belldandy continued to stare at him in wonder. "Look… I just think that you're being a bit too hard on yourself, Belldandy. While I haven't met your old self, I can still say that what I've already seen so far is an amazing woman that I wouldn't call daft. And it's not like anyone is perfect to begin with, Belldandy. What's important is to try your best, and from what Skuld told me, that's the case with you. Also, from what I've heard, once you gained your reputation, everyone's expectations of you were so high that few in your shoes would've been able to cope with the pressure. Just the fact that you thought it was easier proves how impressive your resolve is."

"Keiichi…" whispered Belldandy as she found herself at a loss of words from her boyfriend's attempt to cheer her up. It was true that ever since she became a demoness, there were moments that she would be in a rather disagreeable mood, and often come out somewhat cynical and pessimistic. "I guess you're right about that. Right now I'm in not shape to make objective observations, and especially not for such matters. Still, at the very least I can say that I did the right thing to try to get closer to you; that was the best decision I've made for a very long time."

"Thank you, Belldandy. That… really means a lot to me," shyly uttered the clearly embarrassed Keiichi, given how unused he was to such praise. More than anything else though, was that for the first time in his life, a woman -an a pretty attractive one at that- wished to pursue a relationship with him, instead if simply ignoring him, like most others did thus far. Although, knowing fat too well how unlikely that sounded, Keiichi really wanted to hear more before he allowed himself to become committed. Sure, he knew that Belldandy wasn't the type of person to lead him astray, and yet part of him wouldn't be reassured without some kind of plausible explanation as to why. "If you forgive me for asking, though… why me? From what I remember Skuld telling me, she's roughly nine hundred years old, and you're even older, so, how come you decided to pick _this_ moment to find someone to date? And why _me_ of all people?"

"The timing is indeed rather strange, but I reassure you that it doesn't have to do with me being a demoness. Even as a goddess I was rather reluctant to enter a relationship, knowing all too well that my reputation made me quite desirable. To me, love cannot be confused with physical attraction, let alone the need for social ascension, and that's why I'm so reluctant to let potential mates to get too close to me. Call me paranoid, but I wasn't willing to become anyone's trophy wife, and that's why I bid my time when it came to getting closer to others. In the end, few had the patience to court me for long enough to get my attention, and in most cases, I didn't like what I saw since those tended to be rather ambitious people with an agenda," explained Belldandy with a slight frown. She didn't feel particularly happy to sound so dismissive of others like that, although there was no reason to lie to him, just because she could right now.

The dark haired mortal offered her a slow nod, and made a mental note to ask for some details about Belldandy's social life from Skuld, or Ansuz, just in case the young Norn doesn't feel like sharing. And with that taken care of, Keiichi turned his attention back to Belldandy and reached take her hands in his, offering her a loving smile. "That really means a lot to me, Belldandy! I Still don't know what I did to deserve such a _goddess_ , but for once I'm not going to complain. Actually..." It was scary to even consider it, yet he felt that this was most certainly the proper way of showing his gratitude, so he decided to steel himself and hope for the best, as he leaned forward and much to Belldandy's initial surprise, kissed her.

It was a rather clumsy kiss by everyone's standards, and in her mind's eye, Belldandy could imagine Urd shaking her head in an amused manner, making pointers of how a proper kiss was supposed to work, yet she personally couldn't care any less. She was more than happy to feel Keiichi's lips against hers, and even pressed herself against him as she deepened the kiss. While she knew that going all out wasn't a good idea, the Norn found it hard to resist the temptation of making the best out of this opportunity, until she remembered that humans needed oxygen and pulled back to allow Keiichi the chance to catch his breath.

"Wow…" While undeniably not the smartest or most creative thing to say in a situation like this, the overwhelmed Keiichi could only stare at Belldandy with such a stunned expression that must've been utterly ridiculous. As a matter of fact, he noticed that the Norn was trying to stifle her laughter, and for once he did his best not to get embarrassed by interacting like that with a woman. 'Actually… she's a goddess, or right now… a demoness. Either way, that's not important, although she can act like a normal girl at times.' Ever so slowly, Keiichi regained his composure and then smiled back at the bemused Norn. "I guess that's gonna sound rather tacky, but… boy, you're a great kisser!"

"You're not half bad either, if I say so myself! Actually, that was quite enjoyable, Keiichi. Maybe we should do it more often," said the faux redhead with a deceptively innocent tone, that almost sounded like a purr. 'That's how Neesan does it, right?' Drawing upon her memories of how Urd flirted around with others -even though for the sake of messing around with them- Belldandy tried her best to hide her own inexperience, and at the same time urge Keiichi to get out of his shell, too. Based on the past observations of him, she knew that he was rather awkward around girls, and especially when it came to courting them. As such, it was better to take the initiative and let him tag along for the date, providing of course that she didn't overdo it and push him too far. "Now, how about we head somewhere you'd like?"

"I'd love that, but… is it really okay?" worriedly asked Keiichi, looking at the bystanders for anyone looking at them; and more specifically, Belldandy's entourage. "You must be missing for a while now, and I don't want you to get into trouble for me."

"I think we can spend some more time together. Maybe… not as much as I'd like, but we can definitely visit one more place before I have to go back. And I know the perfect location, too!" said Belldandy with a glee, almost dropping the 'femme fatale' act, as it didn't come off nearly as natural to her as it was for Urd. Either way, she needed to make the best of her available time with Keiichi, and thus started to head towards the changing rooms.

Taking the clear hint, Keiichi offered her a nod and made a beeline for the men's changing rooms. Little did he know that he was being watched by two women who just got out of their changing room, before Belldandy run into them.

XXX

"So… let's if I got it right: You're looking for a _zombie?_ " asked the younger of the demonic duo, as they tried to put some distance between themselves and the happy couple, but without totally losing sight of them. "As in a walking corpse kinda thingy?"

"No, not at all, Mara. What I'm talking about is a genuinely reanimated human, who for all intended purposes is alive." Making a pause to check over her shoulder in order to make sure that Belldandy and Keiichi hadn't spotted them, Fehu turned her attention back to her daughter. "It's not something we normally do, but it's entirely possible to completely restore life. And not by simply transferring one's conscience to a clone, if that's what you're thinking."

"Yeah, but even then… why? What's so important about a spoiled rich brat who couldn't keep it in his pants?" asked the blonde with a shrug, as she couldn't quite understand why her mother bother to personally come here to deal with what was merely a task for the Intelligence Sector. "Shouldn't you leave this job for someone else to handle? It's hardly important enough for you to bother wasting your time while your real task is to free-"

Just before she could finish her sentence, Fehu reached to shut her daughter's big mouth, and pulled her to an alley adjacent to the pool. "For the last time you foolish child! Don't go and blurt such things in public where anyone can hear us. Do you understand?" Her words were sharp as a blade, and more than enough to cause even someone as familiar with her to actually shiver. At which point she immediately backed off and let go of her daughter. "Ah… I'm sorry. I guess I got a bit carried away." Fehu's voice lost her confidence for a moment, as the last thing she needed was to snap at her daughter, especially since their relationship had always been rather shaky.

"And that's supposed to be news?" calmly replied Mara with a hint of sarcasm in her otherwise bemused voice. While she used to be more skittish around her mother, given the latter's success that contrasted her own tendency to screw her assignments up, Mara had a feeling that things were about to change. For once, Fehu was no longer the Daimakaicho's personal maid, and while she had no intention to attempt and make fun of her mother's predicament, this was the chance she's been waiting to prove herself. "You're always trying so hard, even while everyone else thinks that you're just fooling around. I suppose even you need to take a break at some point, mom. Actually, this is the best time to let me… _Hey, hands off! I'm not feeling sick!_ " Swatting her mother's hand when the elder demoness tried to check her temperature, Mara was tired of being treated like an overgrown kid, and decided to do the unthinkable: order her mother around. "That's enough with this nonsense! How about _you_ go back and relax for real, while _I_ look around for this… _zombie?_ Besides, those two can handle their relationship all too well without me trailing them, so I can find that Aoshima bloke?"

Although she wasn't entirely convinced, Fehu had to give her daughter some credit for trying to be assertive for a change, and decided that she deserved a chance. Even though she failed on too many occasions in the past, and even got sealed for it, there was always the chance that she'd manage to turn the tables and do the same thing she did when her paths crossed with Hild, who was the first person that believed in her. "Very well… if you insist, I won't oppose you. Just make sure to ask for help if things get too hot, okay?"

"Oh, gimme a break, mom! I'm a first class demoness, not a kid! You think that an undead human and some disembodied demon can actually make me sweat? Ha! Fat chance!" gloated Mara, tossing her hair over her shoulder in a display of sheer confidence.

"You're forgetting that they also have another first class demon with them, and hell knows who else might find it beneficial to side with them," warned Fehu, despite her daughter's bored expression or even the fact that she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, mother… Anything else?"

"One thing. If you get _sealed again_ , I'm gonna set you free, only to _kick your sorry arse!_ You got me, missy?"

"Yeah, yeah… I hear you! Now, excuse me, but I need to grab a shotgun for that zombie! It's hunting time!"

XXX

"Hey, take a look at that, Keiichi!"

The enthusiastic Norn almost dragged her boyfriend along the museum's corridors, as she went from one exhibit to the next. While it was an unlikely place to visit during a date, Belldandy knew that rather than trying for stereotypical options, it was better to take him to a place that they both found interesting; even if for different reasons. As a goddess, Belldandy loved to see people appreciate old things, instead of simply discarding them as useless garbage. Which was why she liked museums too, since the curators not only took good care of their exhibits, but also told people of their historical importance. However, more than that, she wanted to turn one of Keiichi's bad experiences into a positive one, since his previous -and only- attempt to take someone out for a date involved a museum.

"Don't pull so hard, Bell!" replied the somewhat overwhelmed man, as he struggled to keep up with the surprisingly energetic Norn. In all honesty, he found it extremely strange that Belldandy picked a museum of all places to go, even though he suspected that this was part of her promise to take him somewhere he'd like. Sure, he did humor her request to go to the pool, but at the very least, that sounded a much more likely choice for a dating location than… the prehistoric exhibition of Nekomi's museum. Granted, this wasn't where they started, and the first thing they visited was the automotive exhibition, with him explaining everything about the cars put in display, much to Belldandy's apparent… excitement. Even though he suspected that she was more happy to listen to his own enthusiasm about his favorite hobby, Keiichi wondered if going about like this was good or not. 'Am I so boring that Belldandy needs to resort to this? Or is it that she really doesn't mind this? She sure seems happy enough, but...' All of a sudden, Keiichi's thoughts came to a halt when he noticed Belldandy's troubled expression, and couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong. "Um… is everything alright, Bell-"

"Shh! For the last time, please refrain from calling me by name, Keiichi," said Belldandy as she effectively shushed him, just in case anyone found out about her identity. And once more, aside from the odd glance in their direction, most of the bystanders seemed to pay no mind to them, and carried on with their business. With that issue settled, Belldandy turned her attention back to Keiichi, and then pointed at the natural history exhibits. "Actually, my problem is that… they're all wrong."

Following her gaze, Keiichi stared at the various dinosaur skeletons and scratched his head in wonder. "Are you sure about that? They look okay to me."

"No, it's not the skeletons, but… the pictures next to them. That poor Tyrannosaur Rex… he's completely featherless! For someone his size and apparent age, he still should have some of the fluff the younger ones had, so to see one that's completely bare is kind of weird. Well, unless he's mangy… although, I don't think that's what's the artist's impression here." Scratching her chin in deep thought, the faux redhead failed to note the stunned look in Keiichi's face, as he turned to look at the dinosaur in question and blink.

"Featherless? They had… _feathers?_ " wondered the mortal out loud, since this was the first time he ever heard such a thing. Truth to be told, he wasn't an expert in paleontology and only sporadically read about the latest developments in that scientific field, so he seemed rather lost for a moment. "I mean, these guys were… fluffy? For real?"

"Well… I wouldn't exactly call them fluffy, especially as they lost most of the early fluff as they grew up, but they were definitely cuter than the mean depictions in your popular media. Sure, it would've been utterly ill advised to attempt to pet them, let alone try to ride them, since they were definitely big enough to do that. Hm… alright, maybe some of the largest herbivores didn't mind it, as long and you didn't make any sudden moves, and a few carnivores might allow it under certain circumstances, but… mother actually loved to go on a ride on a T-rex's back. Kind of how humans ride horses and such animals, but with a much more aggressive and massive. And..." Without knowing, Belldandy started to babble off about all sorts of details that world class paleontologists would've killed to know, and yet she told him more than most humans knew about these extinct animals. "Oh, and before I forget, we even used to have them as the basis for stuffed animals, since they've been around for much longer than most contemporary mammals. Actually, they're still quite popular, and I used to have a few stuffed dollies of T-rex babies, since they still had most of their fluff that the older ones lost during their life. Although, now that I think of it, it's not just the cuteness factor alone why I liked them, but… they sort of reminded me of my big sister. You know, not in appearance, but personality."

"I can somehow see that," said Keiichi with a chuckle, finding the mental image of Urd as a miniature T-rex quite amusing. "Actually, I think that your younger sister isn't any less scary," he added almost without thinking, and then realized just how offensive that must've sounded. It was one thing to laugh at Belldandy's joke, and another thing to make one of his own out of Skuld's… temperate personality. "Ah, sorry about-"

"There's no need to apologize, Keiichi. I'm well aware that my little sister mostly resembles Urd in terms of her personality, and to a degree… I'm quite jealous how well those two get along with each other. Sometimes, I wonder if they'll let me interact with them like that, too," said the Norn of the present with a wistful smile, until she shook her head, realizing that she was probably babbling by this point. "Ah, I'm sorry, I guess I got carried away there. No… I think I've already been doing this for a while now. You must be thinking I'm a boring date-"

"That's not the case at all!" fiercely declared the dark haired mortal, interrupting Belldandy before she could finish her sentence. "I greatly enjoyed this date, even though it was a bit different from what I was expecting. Still, I wouldn't change a thing! Call me weird if you want, but I had a lot more fun than I would've ever expected from what most people think as normal for a date. I mean… I somehow never thought that anyone would enjoy a visit to the local museum, but you almost seemed to like it even more than I did!"

"Of course I did. I greatly appreciate when people take care of old things, and preserve their stories, rather than casting them aside. You see… that's the only proof of their existence in the first place. And no matter what, the things we goddesses meet aren't forgotten, so I greatly appreciate it when others share the same attitude," said Belldandy, only to notice Keiichi's smile growing even bigger. "Did I say something funny?"

"Not exactly, but I'm glad to hear it nonetheless. After all, you called yourself a goddess." Pointing at Belldandy's forehead marking as a way to bring her attention to it, Keiichi seemed unsure how to describe his observation, until he tried to explain it in the simplest way he could muster. "Those symbols even changed a bit when you said it, too! For a moment they were blue like Skuld's and you mo-" Before he could even finish his sentence, Keiichi found Belldandy's hands grabbing his shoulders and shake him so hard that he almost banged his head against hers.

" _Wait! Are you absolutely sure? Besides, I thought I disguised them? Did the disguise break? You didn't mistake it for something else, right? This… this is major!_ " cried the stunned Belldandy, not believing what apparently happened, even for the briefest moment. In fact, she was so lost in her thoughts previously, that actually missed that 'flicker' of her control programs, despite how impossible it sounded to her. 'Calm down!... I'm starting to scare him. But… but… what did I think that caused it? Still, I need to go back and tell this to the others. If we could only recreate it, and see how to make it permanent, then we're saved for good!'

Keiichi was starting to see stars, when the shaking stopped and replaced by the sensation of the Norn's warm embrace. That was until he noticed that at some point during that hug, Belldandy's cosmetic charm expired, allowing her hair to revert back to their previous state. And that didn't only stop to her hair color, but also her hairdo, giving her those familiar and highly unusual antennae that easily set her apart from every other woman present. "Uh… Be-" He didn't even had the chance to complete his sentence before a bystander noticed that change too.

"Look over there! Isn't she Belldandy?"

That single observation caused an avalanche of reactions as more and more people became aware of the celebrity's presence amongst them, and the situation deteriorated rapidly. From mere bystanders, the crowd now was becoming more akin of a mob of scandalized fans, especially with Keiichi's presence so close to the pop idol.

"Uh oh!... We need to get out of here posthaste!" said Keiichi as he searched for an opening in the crowd, before they were completely surrounded. "Belldandy, over there!"

"Yes! Let's get out of here!" Grabbing Keiichi's hand, Belldandy forcefully pulled him along as she made a dash for the closest exit. And while she could hear the unmistakable sound of cell phones' cameras snapping pictures of them during their retreat, Belldandy couldn't care any less.

After all, not only she made an important step forward with Keiichi, but she also needed to tell the others about her emblems' flicker.

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone here and the Goddess Relief site for offering their continuing support.

First of all, since this is the first chapter of the year, I'd like to wish everyone a happy new year and may it be even better than the last one.

Also, I have a new poll in my profile, and I'd love if you took part, especially since you can pick multiple options.

Now, as far as this chapter is concerned, while Keiichi and Bell's date is somewhat strange, I think it works for the time being. After all, this is their first attempt at one, and given the circumstances, I don't think that a traditional date would've worked as well.


	13. Chapter 13

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

 _North Arctic region of Niflheim_

In the vast expanse of the northern wastelands of the once icy world, lies the most inhospitable tundra that makes anything in the currently frozen Jotunheim to look like a sauna by comparison. Impossible to geoform even with all the resources provided by the Nidhogg Supercomputer, this was the last place any of Niflheim's inhabitants would ever wish to be; even the otherwise mighty demons, who avoided the land of the Elivagar, the eleven primordial ice rivers that sprung from Hvergelmir, deep in the Dragon's subterranean domain.

To dare approach this timeless, frigid land was a fool's errand, as even the demonic alpine forces avoided training in such a dangerous environment. It wasn't because of the cold itself, as demons could actually survive in near absolute zero, but the effect of the rivers' water.

Carrying something akin to frigid water which in reality was a potent poison, that once upon a time Yggdrasil combined with the flames of primordial Muspelheim in order shape Ymir into existence, the first ever demon, these rivers were labeled as a hazard that no immortal should ever approach, since even the snow near them carried the same properties.

It damned all the fools that touched it to an icy death.

Yet in such an environment, a small shuttle landed not too far from Fjorm, one of the Elivagar, before two figures stepped out of it. Dressed from tip to toe in heavy insulation gear, the duo retrieved some additional supplies from their shuttle, prior setting off. This included the almost indispensable skis they attached to their snow boots, which they used in conjunction with their flight ability to propel them across the snow covered tundra. And they had to hurry up as well, given that the ongoing snowstorm was predicted to get worse; way worse.

"Are you _absolutely sure_ this is necessary?" shouted Urd over the sound of the blowing wind, as the former Valkyrie ahead of her, insisted on giving this a try, even though Urd had her reservations. But now that she saw with her own eyes what she was up against, the half demoness wasn't entirely convinced that this was even sane, let alone a smart idea to continue. "Scratch that! This is batshit crazy! Let's go back and think of something else!"

"Do you have a better idea? Because I don't think that anything else will yield the same result in such a short amount of time!" shouted Lind over her shoulder, trying to make herself heard over the winding up blizzard. Still, even someone with an ice elemental affiliation like her, almost felt her limbs grow numb from the bitter cold, as the surrounding snow was steeped in the river's poison. "Although, this blizzard is getting worse by each second. We need to bunker down and wait for it to pass before we carry on."

"How about we go back to the shuttle? Come on, you stubborn woman! We're gonna freeze our asses here!" protested Urd, but to no avail. Her adversary in this occasion was too stubborn to be talked out of her ridiculous idea of ' _extreme environment_ ' training, and… this was as extreme of an environment as one could find in Niflheim. Apparently, pushing herself harder under such conditions could be quite beneficial in harnessing her powers, as the adverse conditions they were facing, could potentially spark an instinctual survival reaction from her body, not unlike mortals who push themselves harder under extreme circumstances. Of course, that was the theory behind Lind's flash training regime, since in reality there were so many things that could go wrong and turn this not only into a huge waste of time, but also put their very lives at risk. Sure, she did sort of ask her friend for the fastest method to become stronger, and Lind merely tried to do what she was told. Yet now that Urd came to realize the folly of her approach, Lind was far too stubborn to willingly back off.

"I disagree. Consider this as part of your training, unless you don't want to make any progress at all. This isn't a normal snowstorm, so resisting the cold is almost a passive way of exercising your magic resistance. And a good defense is as important as a good offense in combat. Especially in real world conditions, where you might be facing multiple opponents and every hit you get counts. So unless you're careful, you might end up losing against a bunch of weaker enemies," explained Lind as clearly as she could, hoping that this time her reasoning would convince Urd that extraordinary results required an equally extraordinary effort. And while deposing Hagall didn't seem hard enough of a task to warrant such extreme measures, Lind was far from naive to believe that such a development would go unopposed. Even though Urd was Hild's daughter, the fact that she was a hybrid remained, and to make matters worse, her previous disposition towards the demons is also going to come and bite her in the rear, should she become their ruler. Of course, there's always the much safer method of helping Urd to working her way to success by doing a great job as Hagall's second in command. The major disadvantage of such an approach though, is that this is going to take a while to even come close to have the general populate to accept Urd, and time was something that came in short supply.

"Oh, for…" interrupting herself before she snapped at the blue haired demoness, Urd tried to avoid an unnecessary argument and took off her backpack, before opening it to retrieve some tools she packed in before they set off. "Very well… since you're so adamant on setting camp here, how about we start building our shelter? So, we cut snow blocks first?"

"That's right. We must make a hard exterior shell to not only protect our tent from the elements, but also provide a thick layer of insulation to keep ourselves warm. The whole idea is somewhat similar to what humans call an igloo, if you're familiar with that term, but the execution is actually different. For beginners, we still need to set up a tent inside the ice dome, plus we can actually use a simple heating element to keep ourselves warm, since the tent insulates the ice dome and prevent it from collapsing on us." Retrieving her own shovel and ice pick, Lind studied her surroundings until she found the best batch of snow, and then gestured for Urd to approach. "Actually, if you do it right, then this kind of dwellings are so warm that you often have to strip down to your panties, prior going to sleep."

Despite harsh wind blowing against their faces, Urd had to take her snow goggles off to better observe the former Valkyrie's actions, especially since she appeared to be delirious. 'Have I heard right? Strip to our… _panties?_ Does that mean… we're going toples? And while we're both stuck inside a small tent?'

Noticing that Urd was simply standing motionless, opposite of her, Lind paused swinging her pick and returned the Norn's blank stare with an inquisitive one of hers. "Something's wrong, Urd? Just cut the snow in the rough shape of a block, and I'll put the finishing touches, if you feel unsure how to do it yourself."

'It must be my imagination. There's no way she's gonna do that, so… keep it together, girl!' Shaking her head, Urd offered a wordless apology and put her ice goggles back on; if not to hide the blush she got from the mental image she got from Lind's previous statement. "Sure thing… I'll start over there. Just tell me if you need anything else."

And without any further delays, the Norn started to hack at the densely packed snow, cutting it into a rather oddly shaped block, that -with some imagination- could be taken as a heavily stylized heart.

XXX

 _Earth_

"It's fucking _everywhere!_ All the channels are showing the same stupid thing, over and over!"

Letting out a disgruntled huff as she hit the TV's mute button to save herself from listening to the scandalous rumors -or rather facts- about a certain celebrity who was caught red handed while on a date with a mere commoner.

"Language, young lady!" came the immediate reply from the RV's bath, where Ansuz was taking her morning shower, while her daughter had already taken hers a couple of minutes ago. Actually, the only one who didn't was the poor mortal living with them, as he was too embarrassed to even come out of his bed.

Which, in reality was a convertible sofa in the RV's kitchen area, where the Norn of the future had deliberately turned the TV on, and for a while even increased the volume for him to listen in to the news, despite being buried under a tiny mountain of blankets. Still, even Skuld found it too agitating to listen to all the rumors and speculations about the 'illicit couple' that became more and more aggravating for her tastes. While she actually encouraged Keiichi to go out on a date with her sister, and even tried to offer him a few lessons on how to walk next to her, Skuld still had some limits, and the nonsense that all those people on the TV spewed was so annoying that she wanted to blow something up. "First it's eyewitnesses spotting them outside a love hotel, then we've got speculations about an unwanted pregnancy?! How does that even make sense?!"

Exiting the shower, Ansuz dried her hair with a towel, although in her case the most challenging aspect was dealing with her four winglets, that always seemed to trouble her after getting wet. "Hey, Skuld… can't you build something to help me dry my feathers? A normal hair dryer makes them too hard once it's done, so I'd love to have an appliance that actually works properly."

"Are you even listening to me?!" demanded Skuld, as she found her mother's reply so irrelevant that it wasn't even funny. "Those humans are making a mockery of Belldandy's first attempt at a relationship, and you're talking about your hair, I mean… you head feathers… or whatever you call them. Why do you even have them in the first place?"

"My physiology, I suppose," replied Ansuz with a mere shrug. "But I'm not making light of the situation, Skuld. It's just… the nature of the beast, as the saying goes. Which in this case involves Belldandy, who in the eyes of the average human, is a celebrity. And since she didn't quite deny that she was actually on a date, the immediate reaction is… well… what you're seeing. There are those who assume that the only reason why she keeps pursuing a relationship with him is due to some unwanted pregnancy, and there are others who don't care what the case may be and just go with an over the top explanation just to sell a story."

"That's disgusting! It almost sounds as if they own my sister or something!" spat Skuld as she momentarily forgot about Keiichi and plopped onto the sofa, with… predictable results.

" _Oof!_ Hey, what gives, Skuld?" cried the uspsecting mortal, poking his head out from underneath the blankets for the first time in the last half hour.

"Oops, sorry about that, Keiichi!" apologized the brunette Norn as she hurried off his back, allowing the embarrassed man to get out of his hideout. "Although, it's about time you crawled out of there. What's the problem anyways? You did get to date big sister, didn't you? Shouldn't you feel happy about it or something?"

"Yeah, but… I didn't want the whole world to know about it too! And it's not only that, but I can't show my face there without a horde of photographers after me." Apparently, some people in the museum must've snapped a few photos of him and Belldandy as they made a dash out of that place, and by now they were not only posted all over the web, but also shown on TV, even though they did actually censor their faces. Still, that wasn't the case with some instances found online, and at some point, his name did show up when someone inevitably recognized him. Since then, there's an ongoing race for who was going to the first journalist to secure an exclusive interview with him, and in the process make a killing by selling that story to the media. And though Keiichi had any intention to let anyone make money out of… essentially Belldandy's predicament, he knew that visiting her was only going to be harder from now on.

"Okay, I get that, but… what now?" Letting out a frustrated sigh, Skuld pointedly glanced at her mother, expecting some kind of suggestion, although the goddess' silence was both deafening and alarming. "That meant _you_ , mom! Come on! Don't tell me you're just gonna sit this one out and _wait and see_ , or whatever you call it!" Skuld even made air quotes as she critically referred to Ansuz's sole reply, since she first heard about these developments once Keiichi got back from his date.

"As much as I'd love to intervene, there's not much I can do right now. Suppressing this kind of news is too difficult at the moment, especially after Belldandy went ahead and confirmed the rumors. Look, although I understand why she did it, and it's a sweet gesture, it doesn't change the fact that it's a bad one." With a heavy sigh, Ansuz headed for the RV's fridge, but the moment she glanced inside, a frown formed on her face. "Skuld dear, I think we're out of eggs. Can you please go and buy us some? Oh, and maybe some rice too? We're kinda running a bit low, as well. Oh, and-"

"Mom! This is not the time to go out shopping!"

"It's not the time to let poor Keiichi starve, either. And besides, we're also running out of ice cream, which I was just about to say before you interrupted me." Smirking as her daughter's scowl disappeared at the mere mention of ice cream, Ansuz moved to the pantry to grab a box of cereals, since at the very least they did have a plan B for Keiichi's breakfast.

"Well… I certainly… wouldn't mind a quick shopping trip," said Skuld much to her own frustration, as she was fully away that she took her mother's bait. Still, this whole trip wouldn't last for too long if she employed teleportation, so in the end it wasn't nearly as much of a big deal, and thus got to the bedroom area of the RV and shut the separator to allow herself to change into something more comfortable. As she did however, Skuld decided that if her mother wanted to pull her leg like that, then returning the favor was fair game. So, instead of her casual and practical look she normally went for, Skuld changed into a low cut white tank top, along with a form-fitting leather miniskirt and a matching black jacket. And to finish off the look she was going for, Skuld chose a pair of high heel boots that made her feel a bit wobbly, although she did her best to keep herself upright for the time being. 'Huh… how does Urd even walk on these things? Sure, they make you look taller and all, but it's not like I'm short in this form or something. On the other hand, though… I like the feel of lace.' Shifting her weight from one leg to the other, just to facilitate a bit of friction between her skin and her undergarments, Skuld couldn't help but grin, from ear to ear, making a mental note to try to ask her eldest sister about more fashion choices she might like. 'Oh, I can't wait to see her expression when I'm gonna ask her about lingerie. Heh, let's see if she's gonna keep calling me a kiddo after that!'

Throwing the partition open, but not before she quickly put on some lipstick, Skuld walked towards the others who initially didn't pay too much attention to her, until… they saw the spectacle and promptly froze on the spot. Keiichi even dropped his spoon into his cereals, while Ansuz literally fanned herself with her winglets, feeling her temperature rise by the sight of her daughter's outfit.

Yet acting as if she didn't notice a thing, Skuld leaned against the front door, striking a pose for the stunned duo, who continued to stare at her in mixed shock and wonder. "Tada! What do you think? Cute, huh?"

" _Cute…_ is the last word I have in mind, young lady. You're a thousand year too young to walk around like that! I asked you to go for shopping, not a man hunting spree!" Stomping her way towards her rebellious daughter, Ansuz had to look slightly upwards, thanks to Skuld's boots, and fixed her a hard glare. She even poked her chest with a finger, although… immediately regretted this when the aforementioned body part sprung back in response; much to Ansuz's chagrin. 'Push up bra, too? Is _this_ her bright idea for getting back at me? How… childish… or should I rather say immature?'

"Oh, come on, mom! Maybe I'm a _few_ hundred years too young, but not more than a whole millenium!" scoffed Skuld, although in her defense she did so by maintaining her composure, rather than throwing a fit. Which, actually proved just enough to let her get away with it, as her mother stepped aside and went back to take a seat opposite of Keiichi, who did his best to eat his breakfast as quietly as he possibly could, knowing all too well not to intervene in this kind of situations.

"Very well, go ahead and have fun visiting the city. Although… not _that kind of fun_ , or I'm confiscating that watch of yours, and that's the end of it!" warned Ansuz when Skuld moved to open the door.

" _Yes, mom!_ " Rolling her eyes as she let out a exaggerated sigh, Skuld paused for a moment just as she was about to leave. "Anything _else?_ "

"Um… if it's not trouble, can you buy me a bikes' magazine?" nervously asked Keiichi, after maintaining his silence throughout this whole exchange between the two goddesses.

"Sure thing," came the simple reply from the Norn, before she finally exited the RV, allowing her mother to let out a frustrated groan.

"And she's only 900… Ugh, unless she grows up in _both_ mind and body, the next couple of centuries aren't gonna be fun at all. Seriously, I didn't have such problems with Urd, so why is Skuld acting like this?" Rubbing her temples to calm herself down, Ansuz noticed Keiichi staring back at her with a slightly curious expression, and raised an eyebrow in response. "What is it, Keiichi?"

"I was just wondering… I've heard this a few times, but… if Skuld is really 900 years old, how old is Belldandy?" No sooner the words had escaped his lips, Keiichi found himself regretting ever speaking up, as it seemed to be a deeply personal and quite indiscreet question. Although all this talk about centuries and millennia made him wonder about his own place in the grand scale of things. However, seeing Ansuz quietly staring back at him, was too much for Keiichi to bear and apologetically raised his hands in front of him. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't be asking such rude things!"

"No, I'm not offended, just… unsure whether I should tell you or not. To be honest, this is far from the first time I'm listening to this question, even though there plenty variations of it. But when it all comes down to it… this always has to do with your lifespan, doesn't it?" The teal haired goddess kept her voice level, and most importantly gentle, as this was a conversation she frequently had with a great number of mortals during her career as the Interspecies Romance Inquisitor.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," said Keiichi with a slow nod, pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts. "While watching Skuld, I almost wondered if I could ever live for long enough to see her reach that age. But then, I started to realize that in our standards… this would've only taken maybe five or seven years? Let's say ten, just to on the safe side. And when I think about myself back when I was ten years younger, a lot of things had happened since then. I was just about to go to high school, and Keima gave me my Beemer to take care all by myself, and I was the strangest guy my age, owning a bike with a sidecar. I still remember people turning their heads whenever I zoomed by across the street on it." Leaning against the sofa that also doubled as his bed, Keiichi leisurely stirred the cereals with his spoon, avoiding eye contact with Ansuz for a couple of seconds as he wondered just how to properly ask this. "In the end… what's our lifespans by comparison?"

"If you're talking about your lifespan… not much, I'm afraid. Still, I believe that you're asking the wrong thing here. What's more important is what your life means to us, and by that I don't mean just to my daughter, but also the rest of us. Skuld used to be too protective of Belldandy, and would've done everything in her power to keep anyone from getting their hands all over her oneesama. Still, she's doing her best so that _you_ are able to get together with Belldandy, even though she knows the implications for that. I might even say that she's fond of you; as a perspective brother-in-law, I mean. And speaking of in-laws, I'll have to admit that I'm not opposing the idea of having you as a son-in-law either. You see, you're more than a disposable boyfriend for Belldandy, no matter how short your lifespan may be," explained Ansuz as calmly as she could, so much so that Keiichi could feel goosebumps just by the soothing tone of her voice.

"Ah… I'm sorry, I guess I got too worked up for a moment." The embarrassed mortal scratched the back of his head, as he actually regretted opening his big mouth like that. After all, the last thing he wanted was to sound like he was complaining about being short lived, or even worse to imply that Belldandy only thought of him as 'weekend romance' due to that limited lifespan of his.

"Not at all. I know that you must be having your questions from all this that's taking place as of late, and my girls' involvement with you did have quite an impact on your daily life. To that… I'm really sorry; especially in Skuld's case. That little upstart is proving herself to be quite the renegade as of late. Still, don't forget that no matter how brief your life may be, we goddesses don't just forget the people we met as if they meant nothing to us. And though I can't say that there are no exceptions to this rule, you can bet that no daughter of mine thinks of mortals like that." The teal haired goddess waited for Keiichi to finish his breakfast and then took his now empty bowl, and carried it to the sink, despite his attempts to protest for having her do such menial tasks. "You know… since we're being honest and all, I think I've got something I too must confess."

Alarms went off inside Keiichi's head, as the mere mention of the word 'confess' seemed too dangerous of a thing to do, especially after all that talk about them being fond of him. He was actually sweating bullets as Ansuz approached him, and even leaned back against the sofa, just to maintain some distance from the deceptively innocent looking goddess. 'Is that even allowed? I mean… isn't she married or something? Besides, she's Belldandy's mother and… what happened to all that talk from before and… W _ah! Too close!_ '

Leaning forward until she was mere inches from the panicking mortal's face, Ansuz looked from side to side, just to make sure that there wasn't any obvious spying device left by Skuld, and then spoke in a low voice. "I know it's kind of out of the blue, but I actually had to wait until Skuld left, so I could address this little issue."

" _I'm pretty sure it can wait!_ " At this point, Keiichi was literally pressing so hard against the sofa that it almost seemed that he was about to dig into the cushions, yet for whatever reason the goddess didn't show any signs of acknowledging his discomfort.

"I'll have to disagree. After all, I believe it's for the best if Skuld doesn't find about this. You see, I came to the conclusion that I really to improve my parenting skills," said Ansuz with a heavy sigh, not feeling particularly happy to admit this kind of weakness in front of Keiichi, although the situation demanded it. "Look, I know that I'm many times Skuld's age, let alone anyone here in Midgard, but… you can say that I had it easy with Belldandy. And Urd spent most of her time alongside with her sisters, so I never really had to look after them myself. Actually… I was far too busy most of the time with my duties, and the closest thing Skuld had for a mother figure was Belldandy. So… what I'm trying to say here, is that I don't know how to fill that gap as well as Belldandy did. I sure taught her how to fight and even use magic, but apparently most of my lessons focused on practical skills and physical growth alone."

"Huh." Staring blankly at the teal haired goddess, Keiichi had to admit that while his worries were thankfully unfounded, he still had no idea how to deal with a situation like this. Being too quick to agree with her, would've also meant that he indirectly admitted that she wasn't a good parent, yet disagreeing with her wasn't exactly the best of ideas either. After all, she was his potential future mother-in-law, which meant that going against her will was ill advised at this point of time. 'Damned if I do, damned if I don't. Well… at least she's not into me. Now _that_ was really scary…'

"Not _huh…_ I need some advice on choosing a proper source of info here in the mortal realm. After all, this is one kind of topic that human are far more experienced than any of us, given how many generations of mortals had lived on this planet. Surely your literature on child rearing is much more complete compared to ours, since we don't have anywhere the number of children that pop out on daily basis here on Eath. That, and much of our books tend to have decades between revision and new editions, making them somewhat out of date in this particular case. So, before Skuld gets back, I'd like to give me a hand at picking a few books from a local store. Of course, we'll have to teleport there, just to make sure that we'll get back before Skuld returns."

"I don't have a choice, do I?" asked Keiichi while tugging his collar, with Ansuz shaking her head in a very serious manner.

"None whatsoever. Now, let's get going, since we've already wasted enough time here."

XXX

 _Niflheim_

The frigid wind howled outside as the weather conditions rapidly deteriorated, to the point where visibility effectively dropped to zero. And without being able to even see further than a meter from their faces, the intrepid duo had no other option but retire in their shelter for the time being. Which of course was a nice change of pace for Urd, considering that she was in no hurry to get out of their tent -or igloo according to her- and right into the middle of a snowstorm.

However, none of that mattered to the stunned Norn, who came to realize that Lind wasn't joking when she told her that they could strip down to their panties inside the tent. Not only was warm enough to do that, all thanks to the radioisotope powered heat elements they brought with them, but these sleeping bags provided such an insulation that it was almost unbearable to get inside them with their heavily padded clothes.

Still, what really caught her off guard was that Lind went ahead and asked her to turn around for a bit, and while it wasn't exactly appropriate, the curious Urd did her best to steal a few glimpses of what was taking place behind her back; which… made her feel ever warmer than she actually was. Unsurprisingly, the former Valkyrie had to remove her heavy snow gear, but then she went ahead and did what she previously said: leave herself in just her light blue boyshorts. 'I don't friggin' believe it!… This is _Lind_ were talking about! What's gotten into her? Is she seriously trying to get back at me for that Aoshima incident? Although… that's a very strange way of doing it. I thought that going a bit too hard during this whole training thing was part of that, but… _this?_...'

"You're ogling," said Lind all of a sudden, causing Urd to almost jump out of her skin when the former Valkyrie's addressed her out of the blue. "At least I hope that you're enjoying the… what's the word for it? Fanservice?"

"Probably… I mean, we're not part of a show… to have fans… and provide them some… _service_ ," said the blushing Urd once she properly turned away from the half naked demoness.

"Apparently, I have _one_ , and she's a pretty tough customer," calmly replied Lind, before she reached into her backpack to retrieve a choker and put around her neck. Then she ever so casually swiped her fingers over it, causing it to ooze a gold colored metal substance of some description that clinged onto her skin. And not only that, but it rapidly expanded to cover her entire body below her neck, enveloping her in what was actually a skin tight thermal insulator. Which, was technically speaking unnecessary at the moment, although if they wanted to continue with this training, both had to wear it under the rest of their clothes. 'Speaking of which…' Turning around to look at the Norn, who hilariously enough had no idea that her actual intention was to showcase a piece of military grade tech she 'borrowed' from the demons; since she couldn't get her hands on the ones issued for Valkyries. "And I believe it's your turn to strip, Urd. Come on, get down to your panties, so we can start."

" _Start?!_ Start… _what?!_ " demanded the furiously blushing Urd, not daring to turn around to face her… surprisingly outgoing Lind, who all of a sudden acted like her. Actually… way worse than her, considering that contrary to Urd's playfulness whenever she teased others like that… Lind was downright _serious_ about this. And considering just _who_ this particular demoness was… as well as her tendency to overdo things, especially those of a physical nature… caused Urd's face to rapidly lose its color, going from that fierce blush to something that would've perfectly matched the snow outside. 'This is Lind we're talking about here! What if she finally lost all sense of shame from being a demoness for this long, and wants to have her way with me? With her being so strong… Oh my goodness! It's gonna take me days to be able to walk again!'

'What is she so worried about all of a sudden?' wondered Lind who suddenly started to wonder why Urd of all people would feel such intense embarrassment from a seemingly harmless thing; at least to such an otherwise outgoing person like Urd. Granted, she was kind of trying to get her back for peeking on her, but even that wasn't enough to warrant such a response. Unless she was actually _that_ afraid of her, although that theory lacked any evidence from any of their past interactions. And while it was an unsound theory, perhaps it was fueled by the latest incident with that Aoshima character. A most… regrettable moment for both, as it should've been handled much better than that, with Urd choosing a different punishment for that sleazy collaborator, and Lind herself not snapping like she did back then. As a matter of fact, it still impressed her how angry she had gotten over what she would've normally shrugged off without as much as a second thought. Still, deep down she knew that this was the first time she stood up for herself, and although it ended up in an incident she wasn't terribly proud of, it remained that one moment where she didn't just take someone's insults.

For far too long, Lind had willingly accepted the role of Asgard's _damaged goods_ ; the goddess who was the most violent, even by the Fighting Wing's standards, and yet wouldn't express her feelings in any other setting outside of combat. Of course, it could've been that she's always been a stoic person, but ever since her angel's deformity was discovered, Lind became known as the ' _one winged angel_ ' of Asgard. A title that she hated more than anything else, maybe even than her current nature, since she didn't care whether they attached any stupid nickname to her demonic persona. And the worst part is that she never demanded those cruel voices to hush, even when they knew that she was within earshot. Well… that or they thought that she had terrible hearing. Either way, that never stopped people to find ways to demean her for something that was beyond her control, and no matter how much she tried to prove herself useful for Asgard, the voices never went silent. Someone else would've actually expected some praise for all this work, yet even though she desired so little, the rest of her inconsiderate compatriots kept at it. As if making her life miserable was a good deed in their skewed understanding of compassion; a trait that such paragons of righteousness should've known by heart.

From that single perspective, being a demoness was actually better than her previous life, considering that demonic society respected strength, and Lind had more than enough to be feared. She even started to walk around without her sunglasses, considering that eye contact was also a way to send clear hints -if not non-verbal warnings- to those around her, whenever she felt that they needed to be reminded of their place. And jarring as it was for her to see her reflection sport those glowing red orbs with cat-like irises, Lind couldn't deny that the fear she instilled in other demons was… enjoyable. Which was more than enough reason for her to wish to go back at being a goddess, before she started to see the benefits of this otherwise undesirable situation.

"I'm ready. Now what?"

The Norn's voice brought Lind out of her thoughts, as she realized that she spaced out for a moment, and to avoid making this even more awkward than it apparently was, she went back into searching her backpack until she found a choker similar to the one she wore. "Sorry for spacing out like that," said Lind as she handed the choker to the curious Urd who looked over her shoulder to see what she gave her, and blinked. Noticing that the half demoness' gaze shift from the item on her hand to Lind's skintight suit, the former Valkyrie offered her a tiny smile and decided that it was about time to explain her a few things. "This is actually a military grade environmental body glove that's far more effective than the civilian gear we were using. Not only it protects you from a wider range of temperatures, but it also resists fire and ice elemental magic. And considering the nature of the snow outside, this type of equipment will help you survive the magically enhanced cold."

"Oh, is that so?" Letting out a sigh of relief, now that she could make sense of this whole situation, even though she was still embarrassed to think that misread the atmosphere to such a degree, Urd took the choker off Lind's hands and decided to give it a try. "You should've said so in the first place, though. I thought this was some kind of punishment or something like that." Snapping the choker in place, she was about to ask for further instructions, when Lind leaned closer, and taking her hand in hers, she demonstrated how to use it.

"All you need to do is to swipe your fingers over the choker's surface. To deactivate it, hold two fingers against it, and the suit should dissolve."

Allowing Lind to guide her hand, Urd soon found the choker's surface change, releasing a cascade of golden ooze that made her entire body shiver at the weird sensation of this liquid metal cover every square inch of her skin. And in certain areas, a bit too tightly for her comfort. "Uh… So, that's why I had to keep my panties on, huh?"

"Basically… yes," replied Lind with a segely nod. "As much as I love military tech, I'd rather keep things on a platonic level," she added in a quieter voice, clearing her throat afterwards, since her little comment was enough to bring Urd's eyebrows up.

" _Right…_ " Turning around to face her, considering that she was now properly dressed in a sense, Urd spent a couple of seconds stretching her arms to get a feel of the bodyglove's flexibility. And while it was more than comfortable enough, Urd noticed something rather peculiar about this suit. "Although, is it powered by my magic? I can feel it slowly drain me, even as we speak. Sure, it's nothing more than a trickle right now, but… should we use something like that?"

"Actually that's the whole point of this excursion. As you've already found out, this suit does work by using your energy, and the more thermal energy it needs to dissipate, the more magic it's going to drain. However, by doing so, it'll allow us to come up with a training regime that not only focuses on your physical, but also magical capacity. And it's much better to do it in this fashion, rather than simply fire spells left and right, until we get every demon's attention to us," explained Lind, before she pointed at their discarded snow gear. "Which is also why we're still going to wear those clothes on top of the bodygloves. If we run out of energy for any reason, their effectiveness will be significantly diminished, and the last thing I need is to turn you into an icicle."

'You could've chosen to take me to a beach, then. But _no…_ let's go to the coldest place in Niflheim.' Pushing such thoughts aside, Urd had to admit that all things considered, it was kind of cool to use something that was genuinely military tech. After all, from what she's been told, her mother was part of Muspelheim's military and worked her way up the ranks until she could seize the position of the Daimakaicho for herself. 'Alright, maybe I'm a bit unfair. I won't achieve anything by looking the easy way out. Besides...' Running her hands across her bodygolve clad body, Urd remembered of something that she's been dying to try. "Say, Lind? If all that I have to do is to use something that drains my magic power… is it alright if I use something that has a similar effect?"

"I suppose, so," replied the curious Lind, even so reluctantly as she had no idea just what Urd was up to. "As long as it _helps_ with your training, I see problems with it."

"Oh, it will! Trust me on that one!"

'Somehow… your boasting troubles me.'

XXX

 _Nekomi, Japan_

The experience of having heads turn whenever she walked by was a fairly new one for the young Norn, whose temporarily grown up body became an instant distraction for every man -and the occasional woman- she came across. There were even a few instances where jealous girlfriends gave her that nasty look of envy, before they promptly slapped their boyfriends for staring at the pretty foreigner for far too long. Still, to Skuld who was used at being taken as a kid, and therefore ignored, this whole situation did wonders to boost her confidence. Sure, even she was aware that this was a pretty shallow reason to be proud of, especially when she wanted to be more known due to her work rather than her appearance, but for once, it was nice to be popular.

'Everyone's looking at me like they do with Urd, or even Belldandy at times. It's kind of nice, even if they're probably thinking dirty things.' Squinting her eyes at the crowd, Skuld could almost pick colors… or rather colored auras emanating from the people surrounding her, with most of them having a peculiar shade of reddish pink, which she assumed to be attraction. She was still unused at reading those emotions, leaving her to guess a lot of things, as she barely had Belldandy's experience at reading auras, but for the most part she knew the absolute basics. For instance, she was aware that the deepest red shade was hatred, while a fierce burning red was sheer anger, but anything that veered into pink was mixed with _those_ kind of thoughts that kids shouldn't know about. 'However… I'm not exactly a kid right now! Hm… I wonder if anyone's going to try to flirt with me. I mean, it's eww… but hey, it's not like I have to date anyone. Just seeing that they consider me an adult should be enough. Yeah, I can totally shoot them down like Urd does with her _fans_ whenever they start to piss her off.'

"Excuse me, miss…"

'Oh, here it comes!' Turning around to take a good look at the first guy to hit on her during this little shopping excursion. "Yes?"

"Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?" asked a dashing young man -probably one of the many college students- as he offered her a cheeky smile that had 'date me' all over it.

"I do, but only when it comes to elegant machines, ice cream, and cute animals," cheerfully replied Skuld, before she turned around and started to walk away. "You're neither of them, so walk by again; next month." She could almost hear the whimper behind her as she marched on towards the convenience store she had in mind… only to have yet another guy stop her. 'Here comes the second one…' Once more, Skuld put a rather pleasant smile on her face, and turned to take a look a who was her second wannabe suitor, only to find herself staring at a slightly older man than the previous one. "Yes?"

"If beauty were time, you'd be eternity," said the man in somewhat decent English as he flashed a toothy grin at the apparent foreigner.

"Actually… my domain is the future," came the goddess' reply, as she offered him an innocent, if not a bit over the top, smile. "So… your goddess is another castle. Sorry!" added Skuld, making a mental note that she had no idea whether there was even such a thing as a goddess of eternity, but either way she didn't care. This whole flirting thing sounded awfully annyong, although she must've the worst luck in the world right now. 'Seriously!... What's with those cheesy pickup lines? Are they for real?' It was exactly at that very moment when another voice interrupted her thoughts, offering the same ' _Excuse me, miss,_ ' line that became the bane of Skuld's adult existence, prompting her to pivot on her high heels and almost shout at the latest wannabe playboy. " _Yeah?_ "

However, much to her embarrassment, the man seemed rather taken aback by her reaction, and merely smiled at her. He wasn't bad in the eyes either, having vivid blue eyes and chestnut hair, that kind of reminded her of someone, but at the moment she felt too embarrassed for snapping at a random stranger like that. Thankfully though, the guy didn't seem terribly worried about her rather aggressive response, and instead took a moment to regain his composure, before offering a greeting. "Hello there, miss. I'm new to this area, so I was hoping you knew where to I can find a convenience store? If… that's too much, I guess I'll keep on searching on my own, and…"

"No, actually I was kinda heading to a convenience store myself," said Skuld with a nervous chuckle, trying at the very least to avoid making herself look like a fool. "Hey, I know! How about I take you there, myself?"

"Oh, that sounds really kind of you," replied the man, flashing a toothy smile at Skuld, who was clearly taken aback by this level of savviness.

'Overly charming smile, straight out of a shojo manga? Check. Looks fit for _prince charming_ role? Check. Convenient but totally fabricated excuse to start a conversation with a girl? Double check. This guy… knows his stuff.' Biting her lower lip in utter frustration, Skuld couldn't believe just how easily she offered to assist a man whose name she has yet to ask. Granted, she hadn't offered her name either, but that was hardly what bothered the youngest Norn right now. 'Am I _that_ easy? Triple check… dammit! And to think that I made fun of Urd's personality. She would've known what to do with this kind of guy, and without breaking a sweat, too.' Noticing that she's been addressed, Skuld shook her head to snap out of her most troubling thoughts, and made an attempt to smile back at the concerned man. "He he… sorry about that! You were saying?"

"I'm Jiro Suzuki. Nice to meet you," nervously said the man as he extended a hand in a friendly gesture. "Although, is it too much to ask your name?"

"The pleasure is all mine. I'm Skuld… Tyrsdottir," replied the goddess of the future as she reluctantly took his hand, feeling somewhat strange to offer anyone her full name, since it was pretty rare for immortals to do so in such casual settings. 'Huh? His hand feels… like water?' Being rather familiar with the various shojo cliches, Skuld was halfway expecting the whole 'feel warm' routine, but instead she was left with a rather familiar yet confusing sensation that she couldn't quite identify. 'He can't be a human; not with such a strong elemental affiliation. Still, I have no idea whether he's a demon or not either. Should I stick around to find out more, or just run for it?'

Unaware of Skuld's suspicions, Jiro offered her a big smile as he let go of her hand. "Skuld, huh? That's a very fitting name for such a beautiful goddess."

'What's up with that reaction? Is this a mere slip of the tongue, or he meant me being a goddess as a metaphor? And to do that while sounding… almost happy, too. Still, he doesn't give off that icky vibe as some of the others, or any bloodlust for that matter. So, it might be safe to stick around him for a few minutes and find out what he's up to. At least as long as I have humans around me, and perhaps stay close to a source of water, just in case I need to teleport out of the city.' If this was a couple of years ago, Skuld would've want nothing to do with a potentially dangerous individual, but as things were, she felt somewhat confident in her ability to handle herself. After all, it was too paranoid for her to simply suspect ever single person around her without the slightest of reasons. And so far this Jiro guy seemed rather okay, even though she knew better than to let her guard down. "Thanks, it was such a nice compliment actually. So, how about we go to that convenience store, now? I still have to buy a few things to buy before I head home."

"That's wonderful! Please lead the way!" said the clearly excited Jiro, much to Skuld's confusion. Even now this man didn't exactly give off _that_ kind of aura, which made it unlikely to think that he had anything too dirty in mind, although at the same time it still left one rather big question.

'Just what's up with this guy? He sure reminds me of someone, but I can't quite tell who. Weird…'

XXX

 _Niflheim_

Ignoring the ongoing blizzard, a lone figure clad in a modified version of the Jotnar's combat gear crossed the arctic tundra, despite near white out conditions. And while that did impair his ability to track down the location of the half demoness and her bodyguard, it still didn't deter him from keep pushing until he managed to get back on their trail once more. After all, he had lost their tracks when their shuttle landed and the sudden snowstorm only complicated matters even further.

'Damn this weather… But no matter. I didn't come all this way to back off because of a stupid blizzard.' He knew all too well that defying Skrymir's orders was a punishable offense, and if his father even got word of him abandoning his post… there was no way he'd get away with a slap on the shoulder. 'They're roughly a klick from my position; on the northwest side of hill N12-3012. And at half this distance they should be able to sense me. There's no way I can conceal myself from someone who's a trained Valkyrie, so, I need to keep out of the half klick radius of them at all cost. At least, until I have a clear line of sight of them.' Unfortunately, that was easier said than done, given that the visibility was below one hundred meters, making such a plan next to impossible.

Under his snow mask, the demon's eyes narrowed into tiny slits, cursing his weakness that led him to come all the way here to enlist _her_ help when he shouldn't need any; but then again he was merely in his early teens. Not even the previous Daimakaicho was powerful enough at this age to stage a rebellion of her own, and with Skrymir and the rest of the regional commanders fearing a civil war if they try to replace Hagall, the responsibility to do something about the current situation fell on the shoulders of simple civilians. Granted, Hild's daughter wasn't exactly the average demoness, since not only she was powerful but also a hybrid.

And though he didn't care whether she was a goddess or not, he sure despised the fact that she more or less wasted her time here, rather than taking over the Daimakaicho's position. While she had the excuse of being a prisoner, ever since she got out of the Low Levels she did little to further establish her authority. 'I swear… if she came here for a vacation, I'm gonna burn her sorry ass to-... _Huh?_ ' Turning around, the demon could've sworn that he felt a beast's bloodlust, even though there shouldn't be any wild beasts in this part of Niflheim. 'Unless someone unleashed one here. How… _convenient_ for an accident.'

In all seriousness, the teenage demon seriously doubted that this was an accident at all. It actually had ' _assassination attempt_ ' written all over it, although he found it strange why anyone would go _that_ far to take out a rival; especially during these days. 'Seriously though, who might want this? I thought that Hagall-sama wanted to recruit her, not kill her. Well, in the end it doesn't matter. They're both more than powerful enough to handle this on their own.' As he was about to walk away from the area, and leave the creature to be likely killed by the former Valkyrie, the demon could hear the sound of a snapping tree branch, and from pretty near him, too. 'To the left!'

The demonic youth jumped to the side, his hand already extended to summon his sword, but stopped at the last moment. Instead, he focused his senses until he could barely make out the humpted form of a creature with disproportionately large arms compared to the rest of its otherwise serpentine body, all while its legs were so small that were rendered useless. As a result, the creature was slowly hovering a meter or so above the snow covered ground, which also explained why he didn't hear it earlier. More importantly though was the fact that as the creature approached him, and he could see more of its features, it became evident that this was an artificially created being, and a custom made one as it didn't match the descriptions of any known creature. The thing even lacked a proper face, since its four mandibles opened up so widely that there was no space left for anything else on its head, other than an enormous mouth. Still, the two stalks sticking from either side of its throat seemed to possess tiny eyes, and one of them was apparently staring right at the demon near him. Then all of a sudden, the creature averted its gaze and resumed hovering in the direction of the Norn's camp, almost as if it was completely uninterested at him.

For a moment only the sound of the howling wind could be heard as the demon remained motionless, yet his eyes kept tracking the creature. 'You know what?... I changed my mind. You're not getting anywhere.' His hand closed to grip the onyx longsword he summoned, and without wanting to waste the tactical advantage of having the element of surprise he remained silent as he charged a fire spell that engulfed his sword's blade.

By the time the creature sensed that something was amiss, and turned around to check on the demon it left behind, it was too late. The blade was upon its left eye stalk, and despite the howling wind, its roar could be heard for hundreds of meters away.

XXX

"A sword you say?"

Lind had to admit that she's been quite curious as to what Urd intended to use during her training, although a sword wasn't exactly what was expecting from her. It was no big secret that Urd had a thing for magical artifacts, but none of them were weapons in every sense of the word. Sure, some of her possessions might be useful in a battle, yet none of them was specifically designed with combat in mind.

"That's right! I received it as a gift when I got Sokkmimir's position," proudly replied Urd as she presented the weapon in question. Tightly wrapped in a dark cloth with the help of a golden thread that seemed to possess some kind of spell to prevent unauthorized access to the sword, Urd had to first use an incantation to break the seal, before she could untie the bindings.

This of course only piqued Lind's curiosity even further, given that it was uncommon for regular weapons to be sealed like that. But the moment the Norn undid the wrappings, and she could finally get a glimpse of the sword's hilt, Lind realized why this was the case. "This is your… mother's blade, I believe. And you said it was given to you as a _gift?_ "

"That's right! Although I think this is my mother's old weapon, since she probably has its replacement with her. Either way, Muspelheim's commander gave me this sword after that meeting when I was first became part of the Daimakaicho's Inner Circle." Unsheathing the weapon, Urd studied the surface of the segmented blade that actually consisted of several individual parts that kept together with a relatively thin yet incredibly resilient wire. She even run her fingers along the flat surface of the blade, tracing the V-shaped notches where the individual segments connected, and uttered one word. " **Break**."

Almost instantly the sword came apart, with the segments separating from each other, hanging only from the wire that run down the entire length of the blade, that somehow expanded to allow them to keep a certain distance from each other. And thus what was previously a sword now turned into what appears to be a particularly deadly whip, but even then that wasn't all there was to it. Doing as she's been told, Urd focused her will on her mother's weapon, causing it to come to life and move almost like those vines Peorth loved to use all the time. "There! How is it?"

Judging by the confidence in Urd's voice, it was obvious to Lind that the Norn probably expected her to be impressed by this little display. However, as much as she wanted to do just that, Lind knew that it was highly ill advised to encourage what she thought to be sheer recklessness. "It's a very good weapon for sure, although… starting with a whipblade isn't the best of ideas, Urd. You must be proficient with both a blade and a whip before you even consider giving one a go. And that's still not enough to actually use a weapon like that in combat."

"Yeah, yeah… I know that already, Lind," said Urd with a roll of her eyes, as she put on her gloves and prepared to head out in the blizzard, along with her bodyguard who already has her full snow gear on. "I won't go and swing around a dangerous sword, only to get myself hurt in the process. Sheesh... you can be such a mama bear sometimes!"

Before Lind could deny the Norn's allegations and hopefully explain matters in a more convincing manner, the sound of a blood curdling scream caught both demoness' attention, almost causing them to jump. After all, there was no known wildlife in this entire sector, and to have something so close to their position was far too unlikely; unless of course… it was looking for them.

The blue haired warrior didn't even wait for the Norn to shoot out of the tent and reach into her pockets to retrieve one of the diamond shaped seals she normally carried on her earrings, but due to her current garb, it was more convenient to stash them elsewhere. "Urd! Over there!"

"Wha-" Urd barely managed to turn towards the direction Lind was pointing at, when a tree came crashing down, and then another too. And though visibility was low due to the snowstorm, an explosion momentarily cleared the surrounding area of any falling snowflakes by effectively vaporising them. "Okay, I see them now! But… what's _that_ thing?"

"An Adephagos, so keep your distance from its maw at all times!" barked Lind before she charged at the howling beast. "I'll get its attention, so get that kid out of there!"

"Got it!" replied the Norn, turning her attention at the younger demon who had somehow managed to land a few hits on the Adephagos, with the most severe being the gash where its left eye should've been. Still, Urd didn't need to be told that leaving a youngster close to an enraged beast was a potentially life threatening situation, even if he apparently knew how to defend himself. " _Oi, brat! Don't go ahead and get yourself killed or a god will die, too!_ "

Pausing in mid incantation, as the demon teen prepared the most powerful enchantment he could cast on his sword, but unfortunately for him this was the moment Urd tackled him. " _Who's gonna die from a stupid thing like that?! If I can make it bleed, I can kill it!_ " Even though his voice came out a bit muffled from having his snow mask pressed against his face from the sheer force of the Norn's hug.

"Pretty arrogant for such a small fry, don't you think?" retorted Urd as she pinned the demon down, making sure that he couldn't escape. After all, until they established why a person dressed in Jotunheim's military uniform was tailing them, he was suspect for being a spy; or worse. "And you might want to address me a bit more politely you know. I _am_ after all the Daimakaicho's deputy. So, how about you show the proper respect?"

"I…" No matter how hard he tried to free himself, Urd's iron grip on him proved too much for him to handle with brute force alone. Despite her mannerisms, the Norn of the past was too powerful even for a fully grown demon to handle, and probably the closest match to Hild than anyone else in the demonic realms. Sure, she was undisciplined but that was hardly a permanent situation. Which also meant that if she was _this_ powerful now, there was no way to tell how hard he had to work in order to catch up to someone like that; and yet he couldn't wait to get started. 'That settles it, then. I need to try much harder from tomorrow. But first I must de-ass the area, and quick. Miss hardass Valkyrie already sliced an arm off that ugly son of a bitch, and if she gets her hands on me, there's going to be no escape. Okay, I guess there's no helping it… As mom once said, in cases like this, being as obnoxious as possible can yield interesting results. Or get myself killed… but hey, at least I'll go in style.' Steeling himself for what about to come, the demon was eternally grateful that the snow masks they were wearing, hid his nervous expression. Yet with time running out, he had to make his move before Lind killed that thing, and then properly bind him. "I don't mind showing respect, although how about you give up your bad habits first? Pinning down a minor like this, and making demands on top of it… _you hardcore shotacon!_ "

" _WHAT?!_ " Acting almost instinctively, Urd unhanded the captive demon, only to realize her folly far too late. The teen slipped from under her and immediately crouched his legs against his chest, before he shoved her with a sharp kick on the gut. " _Oof! You little!_ "

'Having to resort to such tricks… Oh, well… Let's get outta here, before I get captured.' Reaching to his belt, the demon grabbed a grenade he carried with him, just for such kind of emergencies, and removed the pin before he casually tossed the explosive onto the snow covered ground.

'Shoot! I fell for it!' was the last thing the half demoness thought, before an explosion turned everything around her into a white snow blanket. And though she was physically unharmed, Urd couldn't say the same about her pride. " _Rotten brat! Just you wait till I get my hands on you!_ "

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone here and the Goddess Relief site for offering their continuing support.

Now as to the contents of this chapter, I felt that I had to push the development of some of the other characters a bit more, before I can get back to Bell and Keiichi's relationship. This of course includes some newcomers whose proper intros I'll have to deal with in the next chapter.

Also, to make something clear, I have no intention to pair Skuld with any adult in this story, considering the fact that she's technically speaking an underage goddess. Even though it might look that way, I'll only say that looks can be deceiving. And considering what I've got planned for the next chapter, it couldn't be any further from the truth.


	14. Chapter 14

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

"Are those… rice crackers? Salted too! That's really awesome! I've always wanted to try those! Oh, and what's this? PIckled squid! Who would've thought I'd find this delicacy in a place like this!"

Watching her mysterious acquaintance run around the supermarket with the same excitement of a child, was the strangest thing Skuld had experienced during the last decade; or even more than just that. Actually, the last time she had been subjected to such weirdness was when Urd tried her hair growth formula, and ended up like the homonymous character out of that Rapunzel tale. Of course, it was still debatable whether that was an epic failure or an astonishing success, but either way, Skuld could at the very least make sense of that situation. On the other hand… the same couldn't be said about this 'Jiro' character, who acted like a kid in a candy shop. 'Hold on a second! If he's not even a human, then he should be much older than anyone here! So, why is he even acting like this?'

Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, Skuld considered the possibility that the guy was doing that on purpose in order to throw her guard off. However, after observing him for a couple of minutes, the Norn had to admit that either he was the greatest actor she had seen, or there was something wrong with this guy for real. "Hey, Jiro! Come here for a moment!"

Somewhat surprised to hear her call his name all of a sudden, the strange man put the chocolate bar he's been checking back to the shelf, and turned his attention to the goddess that accompanied him. "Yes, miss Skuld? Is there something wrong?"

'A lot more than you think, pal.' Keeping such thoughts for herself, Skuld pointedly lifted the shopping basket she's been carrying, that was already struggling to contain the sheer amount of stuff deposited in it. "Look… I know that I agreed to show you to a convenience store, yet not only did we somehow ended up in a supermarket, but you're also on a shopping spree! And you even said that you don't have money on you?"

"Um… I suppose so," replied the man, returning Skuld's rather heated glare with a pretty empty look of his own.

"So, I suppose _I'm_ going to pay for all _your_ snacks, mister?" haughtily asked the youngest Norn, doing her best imitation of Urd, as her own idea of dealing with this kind of person was to chunk a bomb on his face. "You want a kidney with that, too?"

"Huh? Are kidneys… snacks here?" asked the utterly confused man, only to make Skuld even angrier than she already was.

" _Don't screw around with me! Can't you even tell sarcasm?_ Seriously!... Were you raised in a cave or something?" barked Skuld, causing a few of the employees as well as the rest of the customers to nervously look in their direction. Some even shook their heads and mutter things like 'lovers' quarrel' or just wondering if they should call the police. And while Skuld couldn't care any less what they thought about this, she sure didn't wish to involve the authorities. As such, the Norn took a moment to regain her composure and calm herself down, before she ended up headbutting this idiot.

"Actually, I was raised in a mansion. But I guess you're sarcastic, again," replied the man without the slightest hint of anger, much to the Norn's chagrin.

" _A mansion?_ You're actually loaded, and still plan to have me pay for all that stuff?" At this point, it was becoming increasingly difficult for Skuld to keep her temper under control, as Jiro's aggravating naivety was starting to seriously get on her nerves. "Actually… you know what? Screw this! I'm done with you!" Handing over the shopping basket to the surprised man, the fuming Norn of the future turned around and marched off towards the exit, leaving even her ice cream behind, as she was too agitated at the moment to care about anything else. She had no idea what this guy's problem really was, especially when she was almost certain that he was an immortal to begin with, yet patience wasn't exactly one of her virtues. And right now, Skuld's first priority was to take some time to cool off her head. 'Gr… the nerve of that guy! Treating me like an idiot? What the Hell was he thinking?'

The Norn all but walked out of the supermarket without the slightest idea as to where she was heading, and even felt tempted to simply teleport back to her RV. However, explaining this ridiculous situation to her mother and Keiichi was a tad too embarrassing for her, especially if her solution to this problem was to merely turn around and run away from it. After all, there was no point for her to look like an adult, if she ended up acting like a kid whenever things didn't go the way she expected. And no matter how silly of a problem this turned out to be, Skuld had no intention to admit defeat just yet. 'Alright… let's go to another supermarket, buy the stuff I originally came for and then get back without any other delays.'

"Excuse me, miss."

At the sound of yet another man trying to pick her up, Skuld really had to restrain herself from simply venting her frustration by snapping at him. Looking at her side, where the impudent fool stood next to his Porsche 911, that was pulled over by the main street just to impress her, this young man seemed nothing alike to the other guy that previously approached her. Tall and with neatly combed dark hair, the man gave off an air of superiority compared to the average joe walking down the street, as not only did he carry himself with far more grace than them, but also dressed in a far flashier and expensive clothes that consisted of a black business suit and a matching shirt, with the only dash of color being his red tie. "Um… you were talking to me?"

"My apologies, young lady, yet I couldn't help but notice that you look troubled," calmly said the man, even furrowing his brows in a display of concern, that for the most part seemed to work as intended.

"Ah, yeah. I was shopping with some other guy I just met, and he more or less expected me to pay for his stuff, too," replied Skuld, despite that she wasn't initially intending to reveal this much to yet another stranger. Perhaps, it was mostly due to her need to vent that prompted her to reveal this much information, regardless of what this new guy's intentions might be.

"My, my… such poor manners." For a moment, the man reached for his face, almost as if he intended to adjust an imaginary pair of glasses that he clearly wasn't wearing, but eventually corrected himself by pinching the bridge of his nose in a rather exaggerated manner. "As a fellow man, it really pains me to hear how some people treat ladies such as yourself, miss. Actually, how about you forget everything about that mannerless brute, and allow me to compensate for your lost time? I can give you a ride to another supermarket… no, actually the local mall, where I will pay for everything you're going to buy. Well, within reason, of course. What do you say, miss?"

"I suppose that's fine by me," cautiously replied Skuld, even though she felt that this guy definitely had some ulterior motives for being so helpful. In hindsight, the Norn of the future began to realize that playing the role of the grown up was nowhere as fun as she originally thought it would be. 'Ugh, let's get this over with. I'm buying those supplies and get outta here, pronto! No more dealing with weirdos for today.'

"Excellent! In that case, please get in the car, miss. The mall's only a couple of minutes from here."

XXX

At a forgotten corner of Nekomi, a once popular arcade laid in ruins after the business closed down a couple of years ago. The building was actually abandoned in such a hurry, that most of the games were left inside, although that was also due to the fact that few would bother buying a bunch of old video games. Still, contrary to the rather run down condition of the entire building, some of those arcade machines were in working order, and right now, one of them was actually operating.

Being supplied with electricity from a portable generator that hummed in the background, the copy of Donkey Kong proved enough to distract the demonic child that patiently awaited for his older brother's return from Niflheim. Then again, most of his anticipation was due to the fact that he went ahead and disobeyed his brother's explicit orders to maintain position, and approached the Norn of the future. And as if this wasn't bad enough, he had used one of the transfiguration potions their father gave them in case they needed to disguise themselves as a human. Worse yet, even though he was quite proficient at using magic for a child of his age, the white haired youth's ignorance of the mortal world caused him to nearly blow his cover.

'Ugh… I should've listened to Aldrnari and stay here. But, I was so bored! There's nothing for me to do, other than play games all day long.' Leaning down to pick up one of the coins he repeatedly used to continue playing this game, the young demon tried not to wince from this indirect reminder of his failure. 'I can't believe that I totally forgot about bringing some money with me. Or say that I lost my wallet.'

The rippling sensation of a space distortion brought the young demon out of his thoughts, as it was the telltale sign of the Gate opening. 'Uh oh!... Better look as if I'm busy!' In an almost panicked rush, the young demon shoved the coin into the arcade and resumed playing as if nothing was wrong, even whistling the game's tune for added effect. Then the last thing on the list was try to ignore his brother as he materialized through the Gate, almost as if he hadn't noticed his arrival in the first place.

"Now this is the last time I'm going out of my way to save your behind, kid," said a feminine voice, that originated from the very portal itself, as the teen demon set his feet on the floor. And no sooner her traveler had passed through her, the Gate of Niflheim began to shrink and assume her humanoid form, which was noticeably older than the majority of her 'sisters' in their network. Standing as tall as a fully grown up woman, despite her bizarre physiology that included a keyhole just below her neckline and a pair of cape-like sleeves instead of hands, the Gate approached the teenage demon who was in the process of taking off his snow mask. "From now on, if you want to use my services, you need to pay the toll just like everyone else."

"I'll keep that in mind," calmly replied the demonic teen, before glancing at his younger brother who was staring back at the Gate's humanoid form in wonder, and cleared his throat. "Vidir, can you do me a favor and bring the lady's… payment?"

The demonic child gave his brother a blank stare, as he hadn't thought that they'd have to face the Gate's demands this soon, and therefore failed to get something for her in the aftermath of the disaster that his shopping trip turned out to be. "Actually, I have a better idea! How about she gives these games a try? I'm pretty sure that she'll find them interesting!" cheerfully suggested Vidir, even though it was mostly to cover up his own blunder.

"And what good will that do for me, boy? You know that it's information that I'm after, and with the two of you being an enigma, I want something to answer my questions," countered the Gate of Niflheim, giving the younger of the two demons a critical look. Just like every other Gate in the Bifrost network, she valued information more than anything else in the world, and two boys that refused to let her get anything in return to offering them her services. It was customary after all to give the Gate bits of information in exchange of using her transportation services, yet the secrecy behind the boys' existence greatly intrigued her. Judging by their appearance alone, that bronze skin of theirs was a telltale sign that they hailed from Muspelheim, although at the same time, she knew for a fact that they've never been there in their entire lives. Of course, that didn't eliminate the possibility that either -or both- their parents originated from that realm, while they were born elsewhere, but that still didn't explain the secrecy behind them.

Their skin tone aside, the brothers also featured another characteristic that greatly reminded the Gate of someone else she knew very well: purple eyes. As a matter of fact, the only real difference between them was their hair color, which was platinum blonde -or white depending on the light conditions- for the younger of the two, and a much darker shade of blonde for the elder brother. They even shared the same hairstyle, although that wasn't exactly very characteristic, as it resembled the moderately short spiky style often used by demons serving in the demonic realms' military organizations. Which also explained why the kids owned a full complement of combat gear that was normally off limits for the civilian population. So, when she first met them a good couple of years ago, the Gate had been quite curious as to their backstory, yet they denied her of any real explanation; which only piqued her curiosity even more.

Staring at the Gate's silent form, Vidir shared a glance with his brother, who clearly had no idea what was going on, so in the end the younger demon had to resolve this on his own. "I never said you don't know about video games. But… when was the last time you _played_ one?"

It took the Gate a while to search through her vast memories that even extended to those of her sisters'... only to realize that although she possessed extensive knowledge of such a subject, none of it came from personal experience. "Well, I suppose you _do_ have a point. And though it's not what I'm after, I guess I can accept this as a payment; _for now._ "

Letting out a sigh of relief, Aldrnari watched his brother show the Gate around the room, pointing out what kind of features each game had, in hopes of finding something she might wish to give a try herself. And while this deviated from his own idea of offering her local delicacies and the like, Aldrnari didn't mind if the kid did a better job than him. At least with the Gate preoccupied, he could now try to explain this mess to their father, and hope that he won't just order them to get back home and let him handle this. Like all demonic teens his age, Aldrnari wanted to prove himself, and for the most part he also thought that his brother was after the same thing, even though he was far too young to realize it.

'Oh well, at least that'll keep her busy for a while. In the meantime, I better call father and see what he knows about that damn monster. There's no doubt that someone sent it after Urd, although… why?'

XXX

'This is definitely _not_ my day!'

Simmering in her rage that burned even more intense by the second, Skuld watched the man fiddle with his Porsche's engine in the rear mirror, as apparently this day continued to provide her with yet more surprises. First it was that guy who expected her to pay for his snacks, and then the car of this gentleman wannabe… ended up suffering some kind of engine problem. Strangely enough though, the man insisted not calling the road service to pick the broken car, and instead attempted to troubleshoot the problem himself.

At least, that was his excuse, since Skuld could tell just by looking at his reflection in the mirror that he probably knew little about engines, or machines in general. And in reality, after all the nonsense she's been through today, the Norn of the future felt less than inclined to humor this stranger as well. 'That's it, I'm outta here!' Throwing the door open, Skuld got out of the car and started to walk away from the surprised man, who definitely wasn't expecting such a reaction from her.

"Hey, wait a second, miss!" Starting after the goddess that made a beeline for the nearest alley where she could teleport out of the city without anyone see her, the man cursed under his breath for his carelessness. He had assumed that she wouldn't act this aggressively, at least as long as he kept up the pretenses, but apparently Skuld had other ideas. 'Oh, no you don't!... I haven't even started with you!'

Just as she thought that she was finally alone, Skuld felt a hand seize her wrist, and almost instinctively she turned around to slap that impudent fool for trying his luck with her. However, as she was about to do just that, Skuld realized that there was no way for a mere mortal to simply run after her like that. At least not without him being a world class athlete, which she seriously doubted that was the case the case with him. "What the?! Let go of me, pal!"

"I don't think so… little bitch. I've gotten into enough trouble already to find you, and I'm not wasting the opportunity to settle my score with you." The more time passed, the more disturbing the man's expression became, causing Skuld to take a step back, even though she couldn't go much further than that.

'This shouldn't be possible. How come I can't free myself? A human surely doesn't have the strength to… Wait a sec!… Don't tell me that-' It was that moment that it finally dawned upon her: this guy wasn't a human at all. Furthermore, his comment about the score he had to settle with her convinced Skuld that no matter how impossible it sounded, this was none other than the sleaze she shot a while ago, back when she felt so outraged about the way he treated Belldandy, that she simply lost it. Sure, she should've recognized him on sight, but then again he was also supposed to be dead, so, it wasn't exactly hard to imagine that he somehow altered his appearance to avoid being recognized on sight. "You're… that Aoshima asshole?"

"In the flesh so to speak," offered the man in question, even though he slightly winced from the sheer intensity of the goddess' disgust. Still, that only lasted for moment as he quickly regained his composure and prepared to backhand the impolite goddess. "Although, you'll have to learn some manners, you wench!"

Seeing the hand enter her field of vision, Skuld almost felt strange, considering how slowly it appeared to move, until she realized that in reality it was the other way around. Thanks to her training with her mother, she could perceive such threats at a decelerated time, just like a video in slow motion. It wasn't even a challenge to lean back and allow Aoshima's hand to harmlessly pass right in front of her face, and as she also realized that she had no problems moving at 'normal' speed, Skuld more or less decked him right across his stupid mug.

" _Agh!_ " Backpedaling in pain, Aoshima desperately covered his face in fear, as memories of his previous run in with Lind proved more than enough to last for a lifetime; or two, in his case. " _Welsper! Help me!_ "

The fear in her opponent's voice caught Skuld off guard, as she wasn't even trying to harm him for real. Judging by the way he managed to stop her a moment ago, the Norn was more or less expecting him to take at least this much without suffering a panic attack. 'Is he really that much of wimp? Sheesh! Talk about all bark and no bite. Or is it that I'm stronger than I thought? It's kinda hard to tell, as the only one I fought so far is mom, during our training sessions, and she's crazy strong.' Skuld briefly glanced at her firsts as she flexed them, but then took a step back and prepared herself for whoever this guy's reinforcements were. If there was one thing that Ansuz absolutely taught her during those years, was to never act like an idiot during a fight. Which also meant that bragging was out of question, unless it was deliberately done to throw the opponent's guard off, but even then it should be done carefully. After all, Skuld was far from Valkyrie material at the time being, considering that although she could temporarily gain her adult body, that only affected her physical strength, leaving her rather weak when it came to magic. And if she remembered correctly, that Welsper character was apparently one of the demons that used to work with Belldandy.

"Sheesh… making such a ruckus," came the blonde demon's voice from further down the alley, where he emerged from the shadows without the slightest warning. "Besides, what do you think you're doing? The idea was to seal her, not mess around with her."

"Not until I get my revenge! This damned goddess sent me to hospital, and I won't be satisfied until I make those responsible for my death suffer!" barked Aoshima back at the clearly unimpressed Welsper, who just gave him a withering stare.

"Oh, for Hell's sake… Just shut it, will you? You're now back from the dead, and more than powerful enough thanks to Sokkmimir's help. So, give me a break, and stop bitching about it. Besides… you brought it on yourself. If you hadn't been such an idiot, then they would've left you alone," sneered Welsper, finding it a tad too hard to resist the urge to call him out for his attempts to woo Belldandy. Even if he also wanted the same thing, Welsper liked to think that he had some standards, in complete contrast to this lowlife.

Gritting his teeth in rage, Aoshima held back a rather nasty response, since he knew that if Welsper abandoned him right now, then he would lose his advantage over the Norn. "Say what you will, but we won't accomplish anything until we capture her. So, stop this nonsense and help me, will you?"

"Fine… but you keep your hands to yourself, or you're facing her on your own," warned Welsper, as he honestly found this man barely tolerable, and couldn't wait to get rid of him, once his usefulness came to an end.

'Here they come.' Assuming a defensive pose her mother had taught her, Skuld prepared to launch herself as Aoshima, who after all was the weakest of her foes and then make a run for the river that was merely two blocks away. However, before she could move a muscle, the Norn felt the presence of yet another demon, and this time from right behind her. "What? There's more?!"

Interestingly enough, it wasn't just her who got surprised by the presence of a third demon, but both Aoshima and Welsper seemed equally alarmed. And apparently for a very good reason too, as before the newcomer properly came out of the shadows, the sound of gunshot echoed across the alley.

"Gotcha!"

XXX

 _Niflheim_

Even though Lind did a number on the Adephagos that attacked them, the frozen remains of the beast were sent to the capital for a proper examination by the demonic equivalent of the Mystics. Called the Xenology Research Institution, it served as the ultimate authority of all things concerning lower life forms, and for that very reason, they were the first who got their hands on that creature, hoping to discover more about its origins. Most importantly, there was a need to discern whether this was a naturally born creature or an artificially created one, and hopefully assist the following up investigation by providing with a starting point. After all, attacking the Daimakaicho's deputy was no insignificant matter, and Hagall wanted this whole thing resolved before this incident became public knowledge.

"Who in their right minds thought that they could take you out with this thing?" asked the Daimakaicho, after studying the reports for a good couple of minutes. And though it sounded as if she wasn't talking to anyone in particular, the fact that Urd sat just across the room, with Lind standing right next to her.

"Beats me. I'm more interested in finding out who that brat was. It seems that he was spying us for some reason, but got away before we could capture him." As much as she'd prefer to do something else other than spending time with Hagall of all demons, Urd knew that in a situation like this, using the Daimakaicho's resources was far easier than trying to look into the problem all by themselves, especially when they had no leads to go by.

"Well, that's a good point. And you mentioned that he attacked this critter, so, he might be a third… or should I say… _fourth_ party?" letting out a frustrated groan, Hagall tossed the report on the conference table between them, and leaned back in her chair. "I thought that after we got rid of that Sokkmimir, things would've gotten a bit quieter. But, that's clearly not the case. Anyway, if you have any more information to share, then don't be a stranger."

"Oh, I'll run straight at you, don't you worry," quipped Urd, albeit in a vaguely sarcastic tone that annoyed Hagall to no end, but refused to take the Norn's bait.

"In that case, you're dismissed. Just keep in mind what I've told you," said Hagall, yet not without adding under her breath. "Oh, and try to avoid freezing your ass in some goddess forsaken corner of the world all by yourself, will you?"

Lind could only let out an exasperated sigh in the background, as the two highest ranking demons glared at each other, not unlike overgrown kids. Granted, she had not much respect for the Daimakaicho either, but in this case, the former Valkyrie was willing to set her dislike for the blonde aside, providing that it was important to find out who targeted them. As such, she placed a hand on Urd's shoulders and leaned down to whisper at her. "Let's leave. There's nothing to gain from having a piss fight with her. Better save it for later, Urd. We have other things to do in the meantime."

The Norn of the past offered Lind a curt nod, and turned to head out of the room, leaving the Daimakaicho alone to take another look at the report, now that the former goddesses were gone. 'The more I think about it, the more it seems that someone wants to ruin my plans to have her take my place. I suppose I never cared who gets the Daimakaicho's position, as long as Hild-sama's vision for Hell becomes a reality, but it's unlikely that others share the same sentiment. Better call Skrymir and see what he knows, too. Perhaps the others as well, although I really don't want to tell Surt before we have the facts. Who knows what kind of mess he'll cause if he decides to take matters on his hands. That settles it, then.'

XXX

 _Earth_

" _MY EYES! HOW… HOW DARE YOU?_ "

Clutching his face in pain, after getting shot right there nonetheless, Aoshima backed away from the potentially insane newcomer who without any warning brandished a shotgun to offer her… greetings. It was only thanks to his pact with Sokkmimir that he managed to survive that without a physical injury, yet that didn't mean that this was painless experience. Far from it actually, as the lead shots hurt even more than the bullet that had gotten into his arm, back when Skuld attacked him. " _WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU, ANYWAY?!_ "

"Just someone who got sick tired of listening to your voice," replied the demoness, throwing her hood back to fully reveal her face to the trio, and as she did, the Norn's eyes went wide in surprise. "As for my name, I'm-"

"She's Mara, a long time friend of Urd's," said Skuld as it didn't take her too long to recover from her stunned stupor, and went ahead to interrupt the blonde, much to the latter's chagrin.

"Hey, don't go ahead and ruin my intro, kid!" shot Mara at the supposedly younger goddess, even though she technically didn't look the part at the moment. Still, considering that she knew how much it bugged Skuld to be called that… and yet her little barb failed to draw the immediate reaction she was hoping for.

Instead, Skuld merely crossed her arms and gave her a critical look, even raising an eyebrow as she made a dramatic pause, until she finally offered her reply. "For someone who's been mistaken for a dude, you sure have a lot of gall calling me a child. Especially, when in fact I look better developed than you right now."

"Why you!... Is this how goddesses thank someone for saving their asses?" As much as she wanted to chew this impudent goddess for making a fool of her, Mara knew that letting those two out of her sight would only allow them to get away, and in the process deny her the chance to prove herself. After spending so much time inside a CD, Mara was more than eager to show everyone that she wasn't a loser, and these two fools were her ticket to do just that; and not only that, but also impress her mother, too. Considering that Fehu was a relatively high ranking demoness, at least thanks to her being one of Hild's closest servants, Mara always felt the pressure to make a name for herself, only to end up accomplishing the opposite. Sure, she had the worst luck in the world, even when her demonic nature was taken into account, but blaming everything to something like that, would only make matters worse. "Anyway… you two!" Turning her attention to Welsper and Aoshima, who was still trying to rub those shots out of his face, Mara reached into her pant's pocket to retrieve a pair of USB stick and held them out to the duo. "It's sealing time, so, do me a favor and come here."

"No way in Hell!" Grabbing Aoshima by the back of his neck, Welsper extended his other hand in Mara's direction and launched a dark sphere of energy, before bolting towards his accomplice's parked car. After all, the Porsche was perfectly drivable -given that the whole thing from before was a mere ruse- and hitting the road was the best way to lose them.

"Oh no, you don't!" Pointing the shotgun in Welsper's direction, Mara literally shot the incoming spell, mostly to cause it to go off at a safe distance from her and Skuld, rather than wasting time and energy to properly deflect it. And as expected, the spell exploded in mid air, releasing what could only be described as a net made out demonic energy that was originally meant to capture, or at least hinder, Mara and Skuld.

"They're making a run for it!" shouted the dark haired goddess, casting a glance at the blonde that was in the process of dematerializing her gun. After all, it was mostly effective to stun that Aoshima character, but against a demon, it would've been practically useless.

"You don't say!" snapped Mara, narrowing her eyes that were already glowing red from her anger. She was so close to victory, that she got careless and didn't immediately seize them, which gave them a way out of their pinch. "Hey, kid! You got something to chase after them? We can't exactly fly in front of everyone!"

"Already ahead of you!" replied Skuld, as she reached into her blouse to pull out what seemed to be a simple metal cube, and promptly pressed the sole button on its surface. "Okay, back off a bit, and watch in awe!"

XXX

" _What in Niflheim's name possessed you to go and meet one of the Norns?_ "

In all honesty, Aldrnari knew that there was something… off with his brother. Almost as if he was keeping a secret, but he never thought that the kid would actually go as far as to use one of their disguises for such a trivial reason.

"But… weren't you doing the same thing?" objected Vidir, much to his brother's annoyance.

"I was out on a mission, and from our father nonetheless; not checking out pretty goddesses!" barked Aldnari with more than enough force to drive out the mice that infested this place. "Besides, aren't you like a million years too young for that?"

"Hey! Maybe a thousand… but not a million!"

"Shut up! As your older brother, I'll be the one to decide that!" Taking a moment to cool off his head before he went further than he intended, Aldrnari was almost ready to resume his tirade, only to have his communicator go off at that very moment. And taking a look at the device's screen was more than enough to make him wince and wish he had something better to say for himself, too. After all, his mission turned out into a fiasco, and the last thing he needed right now was to get chewed for it; yet that was the duty of a soldier, no matter their age. So, after taking in a deep breath, the white haired demon tapped his communicator and braced himself for the inevitable chewing off. "Father, the mission… You know that already?... I, see. At any rate, I-... Yes, but… Huh? They were after Skuld? Shouldn't you somehow tell… I know that! Maybe, I can go and tell… What? Catch them myself?... But father, I… Yes, I understand."

Waiting for his brother to put the communicator back into his combat uniform, Vidir gave him a quizzical look, almost expecting the worst. "Well? What did dad say? Are we going back?"

"No, he wants me to help Skuld and someone called Mara to catch those two we've been warned about," replied Aldrnari, heading towards the room they used to store their gear, with his brother following right after him.

"Mara? You mean a blonde lady with a shotgun?" innocently asked Vidir, much to his brother's bafflement.

"A lady with a _what?_ "

"Oh, I saw her tailing Skuld when I was about to head back. She was disguised as an old lady with a cane, although that was actually her shotgun. But I assumed she was sent by dad to keep an eye out for trouble, so I didn't pay too much attention. Besides, she also buying some stuff for herself, and I thought that she probably didn't mean any harm," casually replied Vidir, only to notice the long stare he was getting from his brother, and for a moment he wondered if he did another blunder.

"How can you be so observant, and yet totally miss the most obvious things all the time? Like _money?_ You… you… _master of pointless details!_ After all, do you seriously any of our agents would ever carry a human made weapon?" No matter how much he wanted to carry on, Aldrnari knew that time was of the essence, and grabbed whatever he thought that would come in handy, before preparing to leave. However, as he was about to head out, his brother stopped him on the spot. "What's now?"

"You can't just rush there like this! If humans see you fly or teleport, then it's going to cause a lot of trouble, Aldrnari. On the other hand, I do have something really useful!" said Vidir and immediately went to the far end of the room where there were a few stacked crates. "Here! Come, and give me a hand to get it unboxed!"

'He's so energetic all of a sudden. I wonder what he's up to, now?' Shaking his head, the teen demon couldn't help but smile a bit at his brother's enthusiasm and decided to humor him. "Well… let's see what you've got stashed back there."

XXX

"Sheesh… talk about fast. Any more, and we're gonna hit _li~ight spe~ed._ "

The sarcasm in Mara's voice caused Skuld to grind her teeth in annoyance, yet she couldn't exactly blame her. Even with her foot firmly pressed on the acceleration pedal, her poor Boxy Car was simply way too sluggish to catch up to a sports car, like the one that Aoshima jerk was using. After all, she originally designed this as an ultra portable city car, not a racer, and while using it was the first thing that came to her mind, Skuld had to admit that it may had been one of her less… inspired ideas.

"Say, don't you have something with a rocket strapped on it? Or a jet engine? Come on, you must've built something just for this occasion, right?" Throwing an arm around Skuld's shoulders, the demoness leaned slightly against her, much to the Norn's great annoyance. "You know what? If you help me now, I'll buy you ice cream, later."

Putting some effort to keep her eyes on the road, rather than the grinning blonde who had the nerve to trying to bribe her, and by offering her favorite delicacy nevertheless, Skuld wondered just how could Urd get along with her. "I've got a few jetpacks, but that's not something that won't get any attention. And last time I mowed that idiot with a light machine gun, so, I can't go overboard or mom's going to chew me for real." Glancing sideways at Mara, the Norn added in a much lower tone. "Oh, and hands off. We're not chums all of a sudden."

Doing as being told, Mara pulled away from the irate goddess. After all, it seemed that despite the time that passed since her imprisonment, Skuld remained as temperamental as she used to be; if not more. "You shot someone with a machine gun? Well, well… we've got a little miss badass here. Good for you, kid. And I mean it for real, so chill out."

"Hmph… whatever!" snapped the frustrated Skuld. She actually didn't even know what annoyed her the most: missing the chance to subdue Aoshima on her own when she had a clear shot on him, or having this bozo for help. Still, the Norn tried to convince herself that it was for the best that she held back and didn't go all gung ho by trying to blow him up with a bomb. She had already made a mess back when she shot him, and put Keiichi in the wanted list for a while, but in this case things could've gotten south pretty fast. Especially if that guy happened to fling the bomb across the street and end this day in a bloodbath.

"Hey, can you hear that?" asked Mara all of a sudden, as the unmistakable sound of a siren was becoming louder by the second.

"I do, actually. And it looks like the police are after someone," idly commented Skuld, before her eyes went wide in surprise and slammed on the brakes. "Wait! Don't tell me they somehow found out that our license plates are fake?!" Ignoring Mara's angry muttering, as she nearly hit the dash when Skuld brought the car to an abrupt stop, the brunette Norn looked around them for any sign of police cars coming after them.

Mara however could already tell where the sound was coming from, and promptly gave Skuld a pat on the shoulder. "It's from the direction of that highway ahead of us. So, I guess it has nothing with us, then. Although… that's where those guys are heading to, as well."

"This… can't be a total coincidence," concluded Skuld, and immediately hit the accelerator, sending her Boxy Car forward. "And if that's the case, we can't let those humans to catch up to them. Who knows what might happen then."

"Yeah… guns won't have much effect on a demon, and that stupid zombie seems pretty bulletproof," agreed Mara, as she had already tested her theory when she shot Aoshima, only to cause mild annoyance to him. "I just wish this can on wheels would go a bit faster."

"Don't you start again!"

XXX

" _Tch!..._ They're so stubborn. And what's with those flashing lights?"

With the police in hot pursuit, Vidir opened up the throttle even more, just to put some extra distance between them; mostly for the mortals' own good. He had no idea what his brother could do if they caught up to them, since he had the tendency to overreact. Sure, he didn't think that Aldrnari would go ahead and willingly hurt them, although… accidents were a possibility. As a matter of fact, both of them were fairly strong for demons of their respective age, yet this blessing of sorts also came with a pretty serious flaw: neither was experienced enough to fully control their own powers. Because of that, accidents were far from uncommon whenever they exerted themselves, and the very reason why their mother was dead against having them make a public appearance before they matured a bit more. Thankfully, she was in no position to find out what they were doing right now, and their father was more than willing to give them a chance to gain some experience by taking part in this whole plot to help their sister.

"It's the mortals' way to mark their emergency vehicles," replied Aldrnari from his spot right next to his brother, since he acted as the counterweight for this unusual bike. According to Vidir, this was a low profile bike with a sidecar, although in his personal opinion there mere fact that it required him to move on his platform-like seat in order to properly turn was a pretty bad design. And the constant sound of the sirens behind them, sure didn't help him feel any better about this road trip. "Seriously! What does this ' _road legal_ ' nonsense even means? They keep saying it, again and again."

"Beats me. Mortals come up with such complicated stuff," pouted Vidir, given that he was still a bit sore about the whole ' _money_ ' debacle. After all, if his brother laughed with him for missing out something that basic, then he must've made a real fool of himself in front of a goddess.

"Well… whatever! Keep your eyes on the road, and we'll soon get to these guys." The demonic teen paused for a moment to consult his suit's computer, as both he and his brother had switched to the heavy combat armor, rather than just wearing the standard issue, light combat uniform. Although it was more of a powered exoskeleton, rather than what the word implies, this type of armor was rarely used unless it was deemed absolutely necessary, due to the restrictions they imposed on its wearer's movement. "They should show up ahead of us, in a few seconds."

"Okay, got it!"

Meanwhile, not far behind from the duo, a lone police officer on his patroller bike was struggling to catch up with the racer that those boys somehow got their hands on. 'Wow… that's some bike those kids got their hands on. I can barely keep up with them, even though my bike is pretty tuned in. This isn't good.' Reaching for his radio, the officer tried to keep a safe distance from the rest of the motorists, and called for his backup. "This is Nakajima. The suspect is actually two boys riding a high performance racer with a sidecar. I really need some help to stop them, before they enter the city streets."

"Did you just said two _boys?_ Geez!... kids these days!" came the voice of a surprised, yet somewhat annoyed woman from the other end of the radio. "We work all day long to earn our living, and these kids have a pro racer? Just how loaded are their parents?"

"Natsumi! This isn't the time for this! Those kids might end up hurting themselves, and even get others involved in a huge accident," interrupted yet another female voice, causing Nakajima to smile ever so slightly at her sense of professionalism.

"Come on, Miyuki! It's not that I don't care. It's just… weird. Besides, how can two kids drive a bike like that in the first place?"

"Actually, that's far from the strangest thing," said Nakajima, as he gave the two boys ahead of him a long stare, and couldn't help but feel even more confused than before. After all, it was highly unlikely that an average human like him would ever suspect that the battle uniforms the two demons wore, was actually military gear from a totally different world than his. Which unfortunately left only one possibility in his eyes: that those suits were nothing more than costumes. "These boys are wearing… something out of a tokusatsu show. I can't tell which one it is for sure, although with the whole bike theme… it's probably out of one of the Kamen Rider shows."

The flat ' _what_ ' that came from the other end of the radio, made Nakajima feel somewhat embarrassed for making that suggestion; especially in front -figuratively speaking- of Kobaykawa. However, before he ended up too worried about such silly things, Nakajima's eyes went wide behind his ever present sunglasses, as that bike entered the opposite lane and right in the course of an incoming Porsche 911. "OH, NO! WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A CO-"

He never got to finish his sentence, as the older of the two boys literally launched himself in the air, crossing both a horizontal and vertical distance well beyond the capabilities of an Olympic athlete. Only to deliver a coincidentally… iconic flying kick, that ended up crashing the vehicle's windscreen and most of the hood.

And without the slightest hint that the armored boy suffered any kind of injury in the process.

'N-No way! _Kamen Rider?!_ '

XXX

They had been so focused on looking for their pursuers that by all means should've been behind them, that both Welsper and Aoshima totally failed to pay too much attention to the road ahead of them. At least not to the point where either of them would notice two fully equipped -albeit underage- Jotnar approaching them for a heads on collision.

Moreso, that collision didn't turn out as Welsper envisioned, with the bike hitting hard on the brakes, just as he did the same, yet the bike's passenger was already flying in the air and in a ballistic trajectory meant to hit the car's driver. Thankfully for him, this car had the steering wheel on the left, rather on the right, and therefore it was Aoshima who got the full effect of that kick.

Still, much to Welsper's horror, this was way beyond anything he expected from their armed forces. One could go so far in the line of duty, yet this… this escalated, and pretty quickly, too.

On the bright side though, not only did he avoid gotten kicked, but with this car having the engine in the rear, it was still drivable. So, without wasting any more time, he put the car in reverse gear and slammed his foot on the gas, causing their assailant to stumble back, as the car accelerated in the opposite direction. And before the armored demon could regain his footing, Welsper pulled a handbrake assisted one-eighty turn, to not only shake him off them, but to allow them to escape.

"Those bastards… How far are they… going to take this?" wheezed Aoshima, as this unexpected attack left him in a state of shock. It wasn't due to the surprise though, but primarily thanks to his punctured lungs, as Aldrnari's kick actually connected with the right side of his chest, crushing almost all his ribs inwards. He had no idea how he was still conscious, although he suspected that his new body was far more resilient than his previous. And case to the point, it was already regenerating the damage, although the paint wouldn't go away until the process was complete.

'Coming from a wannabe molester, the joke's on you buddy,' thought the blonde demon, while trying to look behind them to see whether they were still chasing them; and sure enough, those two were by no means going to let them get away that easily. 'Come to think of it… what's the point of helping them? I thought that Sokkmimir had just the right connections to have us disappear for a while. But instead of that, we recruited an idiot who's going to get us into even more trouble. And what's up with those crazy guys after us? You know what?... It's _so_ not worth it.'

XXX

" _Oww…_ what the Hell was that?" Rubbing her throbbing forehead, after she slammed it against the dash when Skuld hit the brakes to avoid a heads on collision with the very people they were supposedly chasing, Mara craned her neck to look in the direction of the now departing sports car.

"Those two, I think. And someone was after them, but I didn't get to see who," groaned Skuld in response, after she found out that her head was harder than the drive column. 'Note to self: Put airbags on this baby ASAP.' At least she was fine, and the auto driver did a great job at getting them out of harm's way, by performing an evasive maneuver at the last second. If only she had remembered to put some extra safety features into Boxy Car, then everything would be perfect. This wasn't the time for that though, and before those escaped the range of her scanners, Skuld tapped the navigation system in the dash's central column. "Aha! They're heading for the river!"

"You can track them?" asked the confused Mara, giving Skuld a sideways glance, before taking a better look at the nav display.

"Not exactly. They must be using some a spell to minimize their presence, but I'm not. And considering that I was in his car for a few minutes, there's a tiny residue of my own power in it. But it'll last for barely a few more minutes, and even then it's getting weaker, so we better to hurry," said Skuld as she went through a few options that turned the signal booster to the max setting, and then started the car once more. "There! That should do it!"

Still, no matter how pumped up Skuld seemed to be, Mara couldn't quite share the same enthusiasm. After all, the moment the car began to move, she was reminded what her initial problem with it. "Do you seriously think we can catch up to them?"

"We can do it," fiercely replied the Norn, moving to flick a switch on her car's console. "I really didn't want to do this, but I have no other option. When I installed the folding mechanism into this car, I had to remove a lot of the batteries, just to make it fit, but both the engine and the capacitors are still the same."

"So?"

" _So…_ cover your ears," said Skuld in such a serious tone that earned her a worried look from her passenger.

"Why? Don't tell me you're gonna activate a rocket, and have us slam into a wall or something." While she sounded positively sarcastic, if not downright bored, Mara's irises dilated so widely that they kind of became cat-like; albeit a cat who's about to lose one of her nine lives.

"Just… do as I say, will you?" insisted Skuld with far more force than it was necessary. She even looked away for a moment, to hide her look of concentration as she tried to make sure that she could recall all the necessary information she needed to pull off this stunt. "And no cheating either! I warn you!"

"Yeah, yeah… let's just get this over with." Pushing her concerns aside, Mara covered her ears with her hands, or at least she pretended to. Given how curious she was, the demoness merely touched her left ear, instead of properly covering it to the point where she wouldn't be able to hear from it. And with Skuld sitting on her right, it was kind of hard for her to detect her deception, allowing her to find out what the Norn was planning to do.

Unaware that Mara was listening in, Skuld closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated. "I'm the goddess Skuld…"

As the goddess carried on with what turned out to be an incantation for a spell, Mara's eyebrows shot up, as she was actually familiar with this particular formula, only with one tiny difference: the Norn's name. 'Whoa! Isn't this… Urd's bolt? From _Skuld?!_ That little copycat!' It was really hard to hide her amused grin, even though she wasn't exactly certain why she was smiling in the first place, but she now couldn't wait to see Urd's face when she finds out that her little sister more or less copied one of her signature spells.

And sure enough, the goddess of the future finished her incantation in a crescendo that she wasn't even intending in the first place, yet somehow it felt right. " _Skuld bolt!_ " Mere moments later, the requested lightning bolt descended from the sky above and hit the car's antenna. However, thanks to her clever design, instead of causing any damage to the vehicle's sensitive electronics, the energy was redirected to the hyper capacitors and charged them with enough power for a rather brief burst of speed. " _Okay! Here we go!_ "

Before Mara had the chance to offer a snarky reply as to how much of a difference this would make, the acceleration pressed her against her seat. Though far from a rocket, or something equally dangerous, the car's electric engine was more than powerful enough to hit an impressive 0 to 100 kmh in five seconds flat, which was quite impressive for something with the same aerodynamic profile of a brick.

Which was exactly the moment when the sound of a police patroller's siren could be heard from right behind them, causing Skuld to curse her luck. "Of, for crying out!... What's next? A sink falling from the sky? How can I have such a bad-" The Norn came to abrupt pause when she realized just who was sitting next to her; and promptly shot her a dirty look.

" _What?_ " snapped Mara back at her, as she didn't quite that accusatory look. "If you have to say something, then go ahead. I'm listening..."

"Be happy I didn't have the time to install Mr. Bond feature pack #1 on Boxy Car, or I would've ejected you out of here," muttered the dark haired goddess while cutting through a narrow alley as they entered Nekomi proper, in hopes of losing their pursuers. But to no avail as whoever was driving that tiny patroller probably knew what they were doing, and even started to catch up to them.

"Then I suppose you don't have caltraps, oil slicks and all that jazz either," deduced Mara, since this wasn't exactly the moment to pick up a fight with her. Although undeniably ridiculous at the moment, this whole situation could easily turn out into a huge fiasco if they allowed themselves to get captured by the authorities, and using magic to escape wasn't exactly the best of alternatives either. Ironically enough though, Mara did have experience with ridiculous situations -whether she liked it or not- and as she looked around for a way to lose their pursuers. Until she remembered the shopping bags she had shrunk to carry with her, inside of her robes. And pulling out one of them, she immediately turned it back into its original size and went through its contents. 'Aha!... This just… might do the trick.'

Noticing the demoness rummaging through a grocery bag she pulled out all of a sudden, Skuld nearly felt the need to _literally_ slap some sense to her, for looking for a snack at a time like this. "What in Heaven's name do you think you're doing?"

"Nothing much. Just a little trick to get ourselves out of this pinch," replied Mara with a confident grin as she retrieved a wrapped package of sliced bacon she had bought for her breakfast. "Now, do me a favor and cut through the next alley up ahead."

"But… that's not the shortest route," objected Skuld, although the confidence in the blonde's voice convinced her to give it a try, even though she secretly worried that this was one of Mara's ideas they were talking about here. Still, without being able to come up with anything that didn't seem dangerous enough to try on mortals, she was more than willing to give her idea a try. 'I really hope I won't come to regret this… Well, here goes nothing!' Pulling a handbrake assisted power slide to get into the alley, Skuld had to admit that she was honestly impressed with her driving skills, given that she had no formal training whatsoever; nor a driver's license for that matter. "Okay! Whatever you have in mind, do it now! And fast!"

Rather than offer a reply, Mara picked a few slices of delectable, smoked bacon and promptly threw them out of the window. Which initially may have seemed as a pointless act, until the trio of stray mutts in the alley caught a sniff of the delicacy and got out of their hiding place, where they dived in when the car zoomed into the alley. Hungry as they were, the dogs charged to grab the unexpected offerings, and in the process caused the two pursuing police women to come to a grinding halt, just to avoid running the poor strays over. And considering that there was simply no room to maneuver around the delighted dogs, the only remaining option was to drive around the whole block, giving Skuld and Mara just enough time to put themselves a decent distance between themselves and the law.

XXX

Meanwhile, halfway across Nekomi, a frustrated demon was trying to keep a safe distance from his pursuers, who definitely had no idea what _misconduct of justice_ actually meant. Perhaps it wouldn't be much of a stretch to claim that they were the very definition of the term, but to Welsper that was the least of his concerns. His whole idea to feign losing control of the car and crash it somewhere in order to have himself captured, was in jeopardy.

After all, it didn't take a genius to realize that with the way that damned Aoshima was acting, and Sokkmimir's own stupidity, the only thing to gain by tagging alongside them is to add more offenses to his profile. Yet at the same time, he couldn't quite ditch them that easily. If all of them were caught at the same time, then any inside information he possessed would be rendered useless, as the authorities would already have the main perpetrator in their clutches. On the other hand, by allowing Sokkmimir, who was still empowering that stupid Aoshima to escape, and then have himself captured in a seemingly believable manner, Welsper could negotiate a price for his intel. Hopefully, given that he hadn't done anything particularly incriminating up to this point, he could perhaps stand lucky and get away with a mere license suspension. Which in all seriousness was nothing, at least compared to the trouble he could get if those idiots' hare brained schemes actually worked.

The thing was, that with those two after him, Welsper's options were frustratingly limited. He honestly had no idea what kind of training those Jotnar had, but if nothing changed, then his plan was doomed to fail. Even funnier was that at this rate, he might end up crashing the car, and _not_ by accident either. While it's true that this vehicle has the engine mounted on the back, the steering was still done by the front wheels. And after the damage it took from that demon's aerial kick, coupled with the maneuvers needed to avoid the traffic during this high speed chase, the car was becoming increasingly harder to control. In some ways it felt more like trying to steer a boat, than a sports car, and though this could work in Welsper's favor, he really didn't wish the overall result to depend on sheer luck.

Unfortunately for him, luck was something he had in short supply, as the demonic youths behind him -or rather the elder of the two- seemed to get increasingly inpatient from the lack of results, and decided that some decisive action was necessary. Which in this case, translated into _aiming some a direct energy weapon_ at his opponent, regardless of whether such thing existed in the mortal realm or not. Granted, the particle pistol wasn't meant to harm him, but simply take out his tires, or the whole wheels with some careful aiming, but in the end it didn't matter. Either way, Welsper had to somehow get rid of him, although as he tried to look behind him, a shot of superheated particles zoomed mere millimeters from his nose. " _Ahh! You… you hooligans! I have rights, damn it!_ "

His only reply though was another shot, but this time the high powered beam found its target, leaving him with one less tire to control his car, and considering that it was one of the front ones, that made steering considerably harder. After all, the blast didn't just deflate the tire, but also tore through the rim, causing a part of it to snap, rendering the whole car much trickier to keep on the road. As such, regardless of whether he was ready or not, Welsper had no other option but to make a towards the river that run across Nekomi, and hopefully ditch the car in it, no matter how scary of a prospect that was for him.

Still, he didn't have the luxury of wasting this opportunity, considering that there were no guarantees that he'd get another one, and thus he deliberately turned the wheel a bit too far, causing the car to veer off course, and straight towards the river. " _I can't control it anymore! Jump!_ " cried the blonde demon as convincingly as he could muster, while he kicked the driver's door open and promptly threw himself out of the car and onto the river's bank, without even waiting for Aoshima to get out as well. Truth to be told, he didn't _want_ him to get out, since in all seriousness, even hitting the water at full speed wasn't going to kill that guy. Sure, he wouldn't like it one bit, but that was nothing in comparison of getting a chance to escape, which Welsper really hoped that he did. On the other hand, he was going to conveniently remain on the river bank, just in the path of those lunatics to arrest him, and hopefully by the end of the day he'll be speaking to someone who can get him out of this nonsense.

Of course, there was always a difference between how one imagines his plans, and how things actually happen in real life. Which was exactly the case when Welsper saw a fist-sized metal cylinder fly overhead, while he played dead on the ground. 'Don't tell me. Please, they didn't actually throw what I think they did. Please…'

Sadly, Welsper's hopes were in vain, as the grenade bounced twice on the cement covered surface of the river bank, before finally falling into the water. And for the longest second for his life, Welsper debated whether he should made a run for it, or continue to play dead, until that decision was made for him.

With a deafening explosion -despite the fact that it took place underwater- a giant pillar of water shot up in the air, before it rained down upon him, much to the demon's horror and pain. He was allergic to water, after all, which turned out to make something that should've normally harmless, to enough of a reason for him to lose consciousness.

Not too far from him, the two armor-clad siblings inspected their handiwork, with the older of them being much more proud of their conduct than the younger, as ironic as that sounded. And case to the point, Vidir turned to glance at his brother, before he finally decided to voice his concerns. "Say, Aldrnari? Weren't we supposed _not_ to use anything strange in front of the humans?"

"Hey, we didn't use any magic," calmly replied the teenage demon, even though his brother didn't quite buy it.

"No, but what about the particle pistol and the grenade?"

Rather than an immediate answer, Aldrnari pointed towards the crowd a fair distance behind them, who understandably seemed rather stunned by the whole display. However, after a couple of seconds passed and nothing else happened, aside from Aldrnari waving back at them, the crowd began to look among themselves, before they finally dismissed the whole thing as part of a show, and started to clap their hands in a spontaneous form of applause. Sure, there were more than enough who probably had their reservations as to what they came to witness, yet thanks to the absurdity of it all, the most likely explanations seemed too hard to believe. Instead, they too joined the rest who acted as if the whole thing was nothing more than the shootings of a new show, or movie, yet certainly not reality.

"See? They think that this is some kind of TV show," said Aldrnari as he started to walk towards Welsper's unconscious form. "So, let's bag and tag them, before they figure out what's happening for real."

As much as Vidir wanted to object, the young demon eventually let it go, since this wasn't the time nor place for such discussions. So, even though he worried that they had gone a tad too far, in the end he followed after his brother, as he prepared to seal the other demon. "Okay, let's get this over with."

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone here and the Goddess Relief site for offering their continuing support.

The two newcomers, are actually named after Old Norse words. Aldrnari means fire (or at least it's one of the words that can translate into that), while Vidir means water, which is also reflected by their elements.

It should be noted that while this chapter does contain a bit of a reference for Mr. Fujishima's first work (You're Under Arrest), however this isn't an actual case of a genuine crossover. Consider this more of a cameo appearance, even though there will be another one in the next chapter, as this whole scene isn't exactly over.


	15. Chapter 15

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

"A tour? This is the first time I hear about it."

Being stuck in a traffic jam didn't seem as bad when one was inside a luxurious limo, although in all honesty, Belldandy wasn't particularly interested in her immediate surroundings. Instead, the middle Norn found the news she got from Kaun to be far more noteworthy, as it clearly implied that she and Peorth were likely to spend a lot of time away from Nekomi in the near future. "Peorth? Did you know about it?"

"I did actually. Sayoko mentioned it yesterday, but I guess you weren't listening to her," said Peorth with a casual shrug, before turning her attention back to her magazine. Given the traffic congestion that brought everything to crawl, the brunette settled down to do a crossword in order to kill some time. Still, she had to admit that this was taking much longer than normal, and eventually put the magazine aside and turned to her lover. "Hey, what's up with the delay? We should've been at the hotel by now."

"I know… It looks like there was an accident near the river, and they closed down the nearby roads until further notice," replied Kaun after checking his news app on his smartphone. Yet as soon as he said that, the demon squinted his eyes at some additional information that just got posted, even though it made little to no sense at all.

Noticing Kaun's perplexed look, Peorth leaned in to find out what was going on, only to barely understand what she was reading on the smartphone's screen. " _Shocking: Tokusatsu show, filming in the middle of Nekomi's streets! Eyewitnesses claim that the explosions are real._ " As a matter of fact, the moment she finished reading that post out loud, Peorth seized her lover's phone to scroll through the news feed, and sure enough there were even photos of the alleged incident, even though most of them were too out of focus and obviously taken in a hurry to show much of use. Still, that was just enough evidence to point out that something out of the ordinary had taken place not too far from their location, and she knew that it had to be more than a mere coincidence. "What's going on here?"

"I have no idea. I can't even imagine any demon or god trying to pull this off for real," replied Kaun, before glancing over at Belldandy who remained quiet throughout that little exchange.

"Can't say I've heard of anything, either," replied the middle Norn, which more or less implied that she hadn't been told of this from Urd, who happens to know a lot more about demonic operations, all thanks to her current position. "Then again, isn't this awfully provocative for anyone to pull off?"

"Hm… that depends on whether or not magic was used, but even then it's kind of risky," agreed Peorth as she went through the photos of the incident, and in several of them there signs of strange light caught in the frame. "Either way, this looks like something quite unusual from the mortals' perspective."

"I'll have to agree. I wonder if mother knows anything, though. Actually, I think I'll call her and find out."

XXX

What started as a brief visit to a local bookstore, quickly evolved into an impromptu shopping spree After all, for a goddess like Ansuz, who hadn't been able to freely wander the mortal realms for quite some time, it was too hard to resist the urge to check what else was available in Nekom's commercial district. And considering that money wasn't exactly a problem, all thanks to her… miraculous credit card, Ansuz really let loose.

Unfortunately for the mortal she dragged along this excursion, the rapidly increasing weight of the goddess' shopping bags spelt bad news for his back. Perhaps things would've been simpler if he took Skuld's Boxy Car, since one of that advantages of such vehicles over his trusty Beemer, was a lockable boot. Then again, he wasn't expecting her to go all out, and pretty much take him on a grand tour of the whole block that the book store they originally visited was located. Which included among others, a boutique, a music store, and even a lingerie shop. Now, Keiichi liked to think himself as a mature character, but to end up in place where he was effectively surrounded by all sorts of stylish yet rather risque articles of clothing for ladies, sure didn't make him feel comfortable. Of course, the occasional stares he got from the other customers made matters even worse for him, considering that he was one of the few men present in the shop.

Thankfully for his own sanity, Ansuz possessed the common sense not to ask his opinion about whatever she was trying in that changing room for a good half hour or so. But… if he had to be brutally honest, he did catch sight of some lace in one of the bags, although in the end his resolve remained strong, and he resisted the natural curiosity to take a peek. After all, trying to find out what kind of undergarments his future mother-in-law liked to wear… was far from the definition of a good idea.

Until, she pretty much decided to show him.

"So, what do you think, Keiichi? Isn't it just adorable?" asked Ansuz as she held the bag containing the aforementioned undergarment, right in front of the tired moral who was trying to catch his breath just as they finally reached his bike.

As a matter of fact, Keiichi felt so eager to deposit everything in the sidecar, that he didn't notice the firm stamped on the bag, nor did he remember where they got it from. So, he casually peered inside without the slightest hesitation, and before long his cheeks matched the color of the babydoll he was staring at. Still, that paled in comparison to the rest of the contents, that he initially misidentified as a leather handbag, until… he noticed that he was actually staring at a shiny black leather corset, with a matching set of panties and thigh highs to complete the look. All in all, there was probably more leather in the bag than on any of his own jackets; and he was a biker to boot.

Noticing the sheer lack of verbal response from her daughter's boyfriend, since the boy was already sweating like he was in a sauna, Ansuz tilted her head in confusion. "Oh, come on! How old are you? I know it's a bit on the daring side, but it's still a nice thing for Bell to wear."

"A… A _bit?_ " rasped the embarrassed mortal, as he didn't dare imagine what she'd consider as risque if this was a _bit_ daring. "Are you sure about that?"

"Of course, I do! What kind of question is that? As her mother, I should know Belldandy's preferences to pick something she'd approve," said the faux brunette, since for the whole duration of this excursion, Ansuz had to change her hair color to something more earthly. Yet no matter how reassuring she sounded, the goddess couldn't help but wonder why Keiichi was staring at her like that, and even craned her neck to take a peek at her reflection on one of the nearby shops' glass windows. Finding nothing that shouldn't be part of her current disguise, as not only did she have to change her hair color, but conceal her winglets as well, Ansuz turned her attention to the only thing that remained: the lovely, white nightie she picked for her daughter.

Or, so she thought at least, since the moment she peered inside the bag… Ansuz wanted to scream. As a matter of fact, she did end up screaming out loud too, given how much of a blunder she made. " _NO! Those are NOT for Bell!_ " Her screech shook any nearby window, given how embarrassed she truly was at the moment. Somehow, she must've mixed the bags, and instead of showing Keiichi what she bought for Belldandy, Ansuz went ahead and accidentally presented something that was only meant for the eyes of her husband. Worse yet, now that the proverbial cat was out of the bag, she knew that her image in Keiichi's mind was ruined forever. And even if it didn't… having it replaced with another one that involved those… special items was and even worse prospect. "Wait! Stop!... D-Don't… even think about it! Just forget what you saw! That's an order!"

Try as he might, Keiichi found it impossible to abide to such a command, as a man's imagination was a strange beast. And on this occasion, if Ansuz had said nothing, his own natural shyness would've done exactly that: prevent him from pondering upon such matters. But humans were susceptible to this phenomenon called _reverse psychology_ , where they exhibited a behavior that was the opposite of what was suggested to them. However, with the way this whole scene unfolded, the less noble part of his psyche only felt more compelled to disobey the goddess' command, and pretty much did exactly what she told him not to.

It wasn't even necessary for Ansuz to use her mind reading abilities to find out what the mortal was up to, considering every bit of his body language screamed what was going on in his head. " _You're thinking about it!_ "

In a desperate attempt to save himself from an untimely death that was fast approaching, Keiichi vigorously shook his head in denial, but to no avail. Ansus didn't seem to buy his excuse, and judging by the looks of it, she was on the verge of losing it. After all, her hair was starting to revert to its original color, and the winglets that remained out of sight, popped right back into existence, giving her a totally unnatural appearance for a human. "Wait! Ansuz, you changed back in-"

" _I can tell that, thank you very much!_ " snapped the furious, yet still embarrassed goddess, despite the problems her current appearance posed. She even considered giving him a proper chewing off, but the sound of a distant explosion brought her back to the reality around her, and to far more sobering matters.

"What was that?" asked Keiichi, in hopes of finally letting go of this silly topic, although in all seriousness, he began to worry if this was far more than a convenient distraction. With Belldandy and Peorth still under the demons' control, it was not too far fetched to imagine that this could be them trying to escape. "You don't think that those are them, do you?"

"I'm not sure, I can't tell from here," replied the troubled goddess, as she thoughtfully glanced in the general direction of that explosion. Tyr mentioned nothing of a rescue attempt, and neither did Urd for that matter. Even stranger was that she could now pick the faint sound of sirens in the background, which clearly hinted that whatever happened, it must've involved the mortals as well, or at the very least they caught sight of it. "But if they really are, then it makes no sense. With Urd in charge of them, I thought that we could finally relax. At least, until we figured out how to turn them back into goddesses, and then rescue them."

"Maybe something happened that changed the situation? Urd did mention of stealing a guy's position, so… perhaps someone got pissed about it? Or maybe they didn't like her taking that position in general," suggested Keiichi with what little information he possessed from that single time he talked to the eldest Norn.

"If that's the case, then it's probably an emergency," concluded Ansuz, who didn't waste time changing into her goddess attire that doubled as her combat uniform, complete with that giant axe of hers.

"Hold on a moment! You can't walk around like that!" cried the distressed mortal, as he could already see some people across the street staring at them curiously.

"It's not that I've got another way around it. Unless I go right now, who knows what might happen." Sure, Ansuz was fully aware of the problems behind this theory, but at the same time she wasn't going to let something happen to her daughter when she was just a few blocks away. "Just… hold tight here, and I'll be back in a bit."

Before he could even offer to drive her there as an alternative, the goddess run towards the nearest alley, where she could at least disappear from view without raising far too many questions. At least this meant that Keiichi had one less thing to worry about, although in case Ansuz was indeed right, he felt that he had to get there in time too. Sure, a mere mortal can do little against demons, yet Keiichi wouldn't stand to just sit idly and wait as if this wasn't his problem. Still, as he was about to kickstart his bike, his phone started to ring, and the puzzled mortal checked the display, only to notice a very familiar number. "Belldandy! Are you okay? What's going on over there?"

"I… I'm pretty fine, and so is Peorth, but… I have no idea why we shouldn't be okay. Does this have anything to do with the… Kamen Rider cosplayers?" asked the confused Belldandy, only to utterly baffle her poor boyfriend on the other end of the line.

"The _what?!_ What does the protagonist of tokusatsu show have anything to do with this?"

"Actually, have you checked the news? It's all over the place. You see…"

XXX

"Skuld… I think that's the river ahead of us."

As calm and collected as Mara tried to sound right now, the demoness couldn't help but feel the need to back off, and subconsciously press herself against the back of her seat.

"Yeah, I can see it," casually replied the Norn, while keeping her foot firmly on the accelerator.

Blinking hard at the Norn's apparent indifference, or rather lack of concern about the fact that she was still driving at full speed towards the water, Mara felt that she had to voice her concerns again. "Unless this is amphibious, or something, I'd rather slow the car down. _Like right now._ "

"Oh, but I _am_ planning to hit the water," said the Norn with such a big smile, that inevitably caused Mara to stare at her.

"Okay… And how's that supposed to help?" In reality, she was far more nervous than she was letting on, since this started to seem like a hare brained scheme; one not too unlike her own, from back then. Which more that often ended up in all kinds of fiascos, with the worst being the one that got her in that damned CD. As such, Mara wasn't particularly worried about hitting the water at full speed, but rather ending up in a situation where she had to explain why she failed in what seemed to be a pretty simple assignment.

Unaware of her passenger's nervousness, or perhaps ignoring it, Skuld kept her eyes on the road and fumbled with the car's control column. "Where is… aha! Okay, when I say jump, you throw the door open and do just that!"

" _What?!_ " was all the confused Mara managed to say, before Skuld hit the button, mere seconds away from a heads on collision with the railing.

"JUMP!" shouted Skuld, even if it wasn't particularly necessary, given that she already threw her door open and launched herself out of the speeding car.

Not waiting to find out what was going to happen if she refused to listen, Mara quickly followed suit and skid to a stop, not too far from Skuld who also managed to do the same thing. 'Huh… So, she's not only a grown up version of the brat? Come to think of it, she did hold her ground pretty well back when those guys tried to corner her.' Keeping that in mind for future reference, just in case this alliance didn't last for nearly as long as she hoped, Mara glanced towards the impending crash scene, since the uncontrolled car was about to hit the barricade. Only to see that the Boxy Car was alrearly in the process of folding itself into a palm sized cube, that stopped mere inches from the edge of the street, after it took a short tumble. "It turned back into… a packet?"

"Yep! Now, these guys should be by the bridge, further up the river," said Skuld as she run towards the Boxy Car's folded form, and retrieved it. Then she momentarily glanced in the direction of the plume of smoke as whatever caused that explosion must've been more powerful than she initially expected, before finally looking back at Mara. "We can use the water to travel all the way there, and emerge from under the bridge, where no one's going to see us. At least, it's better than having to evade those two."

As if on cue, the sound of the pursuing police car made it obvious that they had mere seconds to get out of here, before the surprisingly capable policewomen got in visual range of them. At which point, teleportation would simply be out of question.

"Sheesh! They're so persistent!" exclaimed Mara, before joining Skuld who stop just by the riverside and extended her hand for the demoness to hold onto.

"Okay, hold your breath for a moment, and follow me as I teleport through."

Doing exactly that, Mara jumped right after Skuld who initiated a short range teleportation towards the bridge where Welsper and Aoshima must've ended up. Behind them the mini patrol car just managed to come around the corner at such a speed that nearly got two wheels in the air, threatening to flip it over, until officer Tsujimoto threw the door open and leaned into the turn to counterbalance that dangerous effect. The only problem was that as soon as Miyuki managed to get it firmly under her control, she slammed the brakes, much to her partner's surprise.

"Hey! What gives, Miyuki!" cried the startled Natsumi, as she stared at the stunned woman behind the wheel.

"They got away," muttered the still shocked officer, as she looked in both directions to find any trace of the fleeing duo. And in all seriousness, it wasn't the fact that they escaped that shocked her the most, but how they managed to outperform her tuned up patroller, with what seemed like an electric car. Even if she couldn't identify the manufacturer for that car, the lack of any sound associated with an internal combustion engine convinced her that this must've been an electric vehicle. "How did they outrun us? I even opened up the Nitro and yet… they're not even in sight?"

"Hm…" Looking around, just for a good measure, Natsumi had to admit that those two had indeed pulled a vanishing act on them. Unless of course they somehow managed to hide into an alley, but that apparently had to wait. The ominous plume of smoke in the distance meant that there was something more serious going on, that demanded their full attention. "Never mind that. See that smoke over there? We need to check out what's going on with that."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," agreed Miyuki with a heavy sigh, and began driving in the direction of that commotion. "An emergency always takes priority. And here I was thinking that trip to Nekomi was going to be relaxing…"

"Well… we _are_ kind of weirdness magnets."

XXX

With Welsper incapacitated, Aldrnari and Vidir had no difficulties to restrain the fugitive demon. As a matter of fact, it was so easy that it actually felt boring, even though the two brothers didn't particularly mind it. After Aldrnari's failure to properly come into contact with Urd, it would've been nice to have something else to make up for it. Sure, this was like stealing candy from a baby, but then again, it's primarily thanks to their decisive action that the chase had such a conclusion. So, for the older of the two siblings, that was a brilliant success.

"Well, he's not going anywhere," commented Aldrnari, once he secured the cuffs around Welsper's wrists. "Now for the other one, and we can finally get out of here."

"And how's that going to happen?" asked the younger demon, as he nervously glanced towards the crowd that gathered by the riverside, even though they still kept a safe distance from them. "If we teleport out, we'll make an even bigger scene."

As much as he hated to admit it, the kid did have a point. Actually, even as it was, Aldrnari knew that they pushed it so far than perhaps they weren't going to get away with it that easily. Sure, it was mostly his enthusiasm as well as the desire for results that allowed him to this far, but any more than were likely going to turn this success into a huge disaster. "We'll have to make a distraction and buy us time to get out of here. But first, we need to get the other guy, as well."

Given the reasonable nature of this suggestion, Vidir found no reason to oppose his brother, and looked at the downed Porsche. The river's depth was just enough to keep the car's roof underneath the water, but just barely, making it much easier for them to extract Aoshima from the wreck without replying on magic. As a matter of fact, the demonic youngster suspected that the reanimated mortal must've been playing dead to avoid capture, since he assumed that they wouldn't dare use a spell to get to him. So as long as he stayed put, his security was more or less assured.

Such were Vidir's thoughts, when the young demon noticed that someone, or rather two individuals suddenly emerged from the water, just further along the river, but actually closer to the submerged car than them. "Hey, Aldrnari! Did you call for?… Wait! One of the is miss Skuld!"

" _What?!_ " Turning away from the unconscious Welsper, to see what his brother was talking about, Aldrnari sure spotted the youngest Norn along with someone he vaguely remembered from reading Urd's profile. And if that information was up to date, then he didn't have much to worry about the latter, although the former… was a whole different matter. If Skuld got hold of their prisoners, then chances are that this could turn into an even bigger fiasco than the one with Urd. "Seriously… can't they just find something else to do right now?" growled Aldrnari, before he decided to at least try to avoid a direct confrontation if he could help it. "Hey, you two! We're on official business here, so stay out of this!"

"Not so fast, pal!" Shot Skuld back at the taller of the two armored demons. "That's one of the guys, my sister used to work with. And there's another one, somewhere…"

"He's in the car," said Vidir while pointing at the submerged Porche in question, before his brother snarled at him for giving away too much information. "What? It's right next to them! There's no way they wouldn't notice!..."

And yet somehow, that was exactly the case with them, as neither noticed anyone in the car when they teleported a fair distance from it. Actually, given Vidir's comment, they quickly checked another time, just in case they somehow missed him, only to find no traces of him at all. Naturally, this aggravated the youngest Norn, since she thought that those demons were messing around with them. "Give me a break! If you want to lie about it, then come up with something believable! What do you take me for? An idiot?"

As much as Aldrnari felt tempted to say yes just to annoy the goddess, her statement caught him off guard. After all, Aoshima was far less of a concern, since he was merely a reanimated human, with a rather restricted use of magic, based on what Sokkmimir had to spare from his own leftover powers. And because of that, his biggest priority was to restrain Welsper, who was not only a demon, but a holder of a first class license, too. "What are you talking about? We're not lying! Unless…" Cutting off his sentence when he began to accept that the most likely explanation was that somehow that damned ex-human escaped right under their nose, Aldrnari turned to his brother. "We need to get out of here! Pronto!"

"Ah, yeah! I got it!" said the youngster, as he too realized that it was probably for the best to make a run for it with what they already had, instead of losing even that. But as he prepared to grab Welsper's unconscious form, the sound of what seemed to be a song could be heard across the whole area.

" _That's!..._ " gasped Skuld, while the three demons present searched around for the source of that sweet melody. More importantly though, the gathered mortals also tried to do the same, but within seconds of listening to that heavenly song, their eyes began to lose focus, and they entered some form of trance. " _Mother?_ "

Indeed, the celestials' second in command stepped out from the crowd she had blended in, while everyone was too busy staring at the unfolding scene, and took the opportunity to hypnotize them. At least like this, she had one less problem to worry about, since by the time the humans would come about, their memories of the event would seem as if it was some kind of strange daydream. "Sheesh! What a bother!" huffed the annoyed goddess, as managed to get through the crowd, only to come to a stop a fair distance from the stunned Jotnar. "And here I was expecting that someone attacked my daughters. Instead, we've got two kids playing war. You know, if you get caught by your armed forces, the punishment for pulling this stunt will be quite severe."

"We-" started Vidir, but was immediately interrupted by his brother, who raised his hand in front of his helmet's faceplate to signal him to stop. So, instead of speaking out, the younger demon whispered at a much lower voice at his brother. "What are going to do now?"

"There's much we _can_ do. She's _way out_ of league, and we're not allowed to ask for reinforcements, either," said the frustrated Aldrnari, who could hardly believe their bad luck. First, he run into a monster which prevented him to carefully approach Urd, and thus leaving him no option but to flee. And right now, they were facing the most powerful goddess, which was a difficult enough task even for seasoned, high ranking members of their fighting forces; not two youngsters like them. This unfortunately meant that running away was once more the only option, as even the slightest attempt to mess around with Ansuz would only end up with them sharing Welsper's fate. "I don't see any other way. We've got to make a run for it. Get ready to follow me, once I open the return portal," ordered Aldrnari in a hushed, low tone, just enough for his brother to hear.

For his part, Vidir only offered a sharp nod in response, as he knew that with Ansuz now moving slowly towards them, the slightest mistake would seal their fate. He even felt protesting when she heard the sound of a metallic ping from his brother's belt, only to see him detach a second grenade and unceremoniously hurl it in Skuld's direction.

"What the?!" Although she prepared herself for the possibility of an attack, Ansuz never thought that a bunch of kids would act in such a devious manner and attempt to target the weakest target first. Then again, she probably should've expected that, coming from demons, but either way that was not the problem right now. What really mattered was to neutralize this new threat, and for that reason she extended her free hand to cast a shield meant to capture the grenade, while she used the other to position her axe for an immediate follow up attack. Now for the average celestial, to catch a moving target inside of a barrier was much easier said than done, yet Ansuz wasn't exactly average. In less time than it took Skuld to reach into her blouse in order to grab something to block this incoming threat, or even Mara to form a shield around them, Ansuz had already captured the projectile in mid-air.

Unfortunately, by the time she was ready to go after those demons, they had already made a run for it and opened up an emergency gate out of there. Still, the most infuriating thing was that mere seconds later, the inside of that barrier began to fill with thick smoke. Which simply meant that this wasn't even an actual explosive, just a smoke bomb. "Darn it! I can't believe I fell for it!" Letting out a heavy sigh, Ansuz had to admit that in all seriousness things had turned out much better than she initially feared. At the very least, her daughters weren't in any immediate danger, and as a bonus, they also got Welsper. The latter was still unconscious and cuffed where the others left him, and while Mara moved in to make sure that he wouldn't get away as well, Ansuz decided to approach Skuld instead. "I suppose this counts as your first real action, Skuld. So, what do you think? Is the life of an adult goddess what you really hoped for?"

Under any other circumstances, Skuld would've taken offense from that little barb. Today however, she felt so fed up with all the nonsense she had to put up with, that she didn't even bother to immediately respond, and instead pulled her mother for a hug. Actually, it was so unexpected that Ansuz seemed taken aback by her gesture, although she did eventually return it, despite the initial awkwardness. "It's one big pain in the ass," said Skuld after a long moment of silence, much to her mother's chagrin. Although, this case of bad language was hardly anything compared to what was followed next. "I've got hit on more times I even bothered to count, and I believe that at some point I've heard a cat call. Oh, and apparently I'm a magnet for penniless idiots, too."

Although Ansuz was half expecting a witty reply, the one she actually got… proved to be far more problematic than anticipated. "That's it! You're not leaving my side from now on. And once this is done, I'm confiscating that watch of yours!"

"Whoa! Hold on a second, mom! Can't you tell I'm joking?" While that indignant protest left a lot of room for interpretation, as it was mostly incorrect, Skuld had no desire to be stuck being the kid when everyone needed her the most; and thus become useless once more. Even her mother's reassurance that she wouldn't take immediate action didn't please Skuld, as deep down, that seemed to indirectly question her mental maturity. That was perhaps her biggest goal in life: to earn the same recognition as Belldandy, even though the methods would be different. While Belldandy was the living embodiment of Asgard's ideal goddess, Skuld wished to become as popular by proving herself as wise and resourceful. Granted, experience begets wisdom, and thus she had little to offer in that department at the moment, at least compared to the vast amount of experience some other immortals have amassed over the millennia. Yet, Skuld still tried to compensate that with her high intelligence, that even allowed her to stand here as an adult, all thanks to her own creation. "Besides, that's Time Accelerator Mk III, not a watch! And you did train me to handle myself in a situation like this, so, what exactly were you expecting? To bawl my eyes out, on my first day alone?"

Admittedly, Skuld's reply did make Ansuz reconsider her whole approach of the subject, since an aggressive attitude used on an equally aggressive child, was bound to yield poor results. Still, even though she wouldn't admit it out loud, she was quite proud of her young daughter, given that Skuld resembled her so much, and yet she even accomplished things that Ansuz herself was incapable of. 'Come to think of it, geniuses tend to be somewhat eccentric at times. Not that I want her to end up like Loki, but I suppose I can forgive some bizarreness now and then.' With that in mind, Ansuz relaxed her features in an effort to appease her daughter, even if she knew that they had to keep this brief. There was no way that no one would notice a dazed crowd, and pass this is normal behavior, at which point the possibility of their activities being exposed to the wide world was quite real. "All in all, I think you did well, Skuld. But early successes can often lead to arrogance; one which you can pay for in the future, if you get too complacent. We've all been through this, and learned our lessons from it. Although for some, the price was a bit too much, especially back in the day. Thankfully you don't have to worry about your life anymore, but that still means you need to be careful. You can harm someone in more ways than just killing them."

"Yeah… I know that, mom. I do try not being an idiot as much as I can. But it's not like grownups aren't prone for that kind of thing, though. I mean… look at that," said Skuld, trailing off towards the end, while glancing in Welsper's direction. Mara had already sealed him inside a CD, and was currently heading on their way, with probably the silliest grin on her face.

"I must admit, being taken out by youngsters like that… isn't the most dignified manner for a demon to get sealed," muttered Ansuz, only for her daughter to shake her head.

"No, not that guy, I'm talking about Mara. For someone who's supposedly on a special mission, she sure acts too relaxed now," snorted Skuld, before she turned her attention back to her mother, and much to the latter's surprise, she narrowed her eyes. "Speaking of professionalism, I've got a bone to pick on you. What in Asgard's name possessed you to show up here dressed like this? Do you have an idea what people might think if they see you in something _this_ outlandish?"

Ansuz could only gawk at her daughter, while she literally stood there with her mouth hanging open from the shock of being told off like this. Actually, it almost felt as if the tables had turned, and it was Skuld who's been scolding her, rather than the other way around. "Hey! You can't!... _This_ is a battle uniform, you know! I thought I was going to get involved in a fight, so I chanced into this by habit. And before you even say it… No, using a glamor spell to cover it up wouldn't work. Just as you may have noticed from before, I totally sneaked up on all of you. That would've been impossible if I used something that gives off too much magic."

As she heard that, Skuld suddenly felt a bit bad for trying to pose as the more mature person here, even though she still suspected that her mother probably didn't spend too much time thinking about this issue. "Okay, I guess you've got a point…"

"I do. And I also think it's about time we wrap things up here," said Ansuz with a renewed sense of urgency. The sound of the emergency vehicles could be heard much louder than before, which probably meant that the effect of the wide range vector diffusion spell she cast before she even teleported into the area, was fading away. Then again, that kind of spell simply messed up the people's sense of direction and most importantly their pathfinding abilities, but in a somewhat discreet manner. It was something that would cause someone to take the longest route to get to their destination, and in some cases also result in a loop or two, yet not to the point where the affected people would realize it. Besides the obvious problems of going that far as to get humans lost for real, Ansuz doubted that the demons would allow her to use something too potent, as it would inevitably affect them as well. At which point, they'd try to dispel it and in the process get her back to square one. "I tried to delay the rest of the humans from coming here, but it seems that the effect had already worn off. I guess the best thing to do now is get out of here. Skuld, take Mara with you to our RV for now. It might seem unnecessary, but it's better if she's around you, until I join you. Meanwhile, I'll have to set the crowd free from the trance I put them in, before anyone sees them like this."

"Okay, I got it!" replied Skuld with a nod, and then hurried to Mara, who was probably debating whether to leave or stick around for longer.

Leaving those two alone, Ansuz climbed up the riverbank's steep slope, to reach the mesmerised crowd that still stood there with a glassed over look on their eyes. Unlike the other spell she cast, this one would probably last for a good couple of hours, which made it absolutely necessary to release them, before the police managed to get here. After all, it would cause quite some concern if human medics got to see this kind of effect, without any means to explain it, as the potential of mass panic over something like this was far from her intentions.

Yet as it seems, she must've spent more time talking to Skuld than she thought she did, which resulted in her barely having enough to time to start with her aria, before the sound of a bike's engine interrupted her. Even then, Ansuz didn't seem worried at first, as she thought that this was merely Keiichi finally catching up to her. That was until an unfamiliar voice proved her wrong, and with a quick glance in the newcomer's direction, the goddess couldn't help but wince. 'Oh… no.'

"Excuse me, ma'am, but… what's going on here?" As if having watched a real life Kamen Riders wasn't bizarre enough for Nakajima, now he was in the middle of yet another strange sight… yet of a totally different nature. For beginners, he found that the Porsche those two were chasing had somehow ended up in the river. At the same time though, there was no sight of those masked youngsters, or even the car's driver and passenger for that matter. Then there was the crowd surrounding the scene, which was something to be expected as in the case of every other accident… only in this case they seemed almost hypnotized. Nakajima didn't even know if that was the right word to describe them, but everyone present seemed totally unresponsive and barely aware of their surroundings; except for one. That person happened to be a woman in what seemed to be a rather bizarre cross of a ballerina's attire and a magical girl's outfit, all with a few additions, like those winglets on her head. As a matter of fact, the closer he got to her, the more certain he was that the little wings in question seemed to be alive, rather than some fancy prop. 'I don't even know what's going on anymore. And to think that Yoriko complained about missing out this assignment.'

"Well… as you can see, there's a car accident?" In all honesty, Ansuz privately debated on what's the best way of dealing with this situation. Part of her simply wished to use the command voice to instruct this officer to leave the scene and forget about it. Although, given the facts, he could end up in trouble when his superiors figure out that he just passed next to such a scene, and he carried on without a care in the world. Just because it was convenient for her, didn't mean that Ansuz could do anything regardless of the consequences. Such was the way of the demons, although a goddess like her should take such problems into account. At least, by now Skuld and Mara were out of the scene, and with same being true for the others, she was the sole immortal present.

"I can already see that, ma'am. Although, I can't see any sign of the people in the car. And did you happen to see any…" catching himself from actually calling the mysterious youths as 'Kamen Riders' and risk being ridiculed for it, Nakajima simply tried to avoid such unnecessary bits of information. "Any strange looking individuals riding a bike?"

"Uhh… no, not really." Even if a goddess like her was barred from lying, by sticking to technicalities enabled Ansuz to dodge some problematic questions without the risk of breaking such an important law. Then again, everything was relative, which also applied in this case. After all, seeing two Jotnar was far from unusual from Ansuz' point of view, even though the same couldn't be said about a human. On top of that, by the time she arrived at the scene, those two weren't anywhere close to their bike, so that too counted like an excuse for her to say no, even though that was only partially correct.

'Hm… well, I guess a thirty-year old cosplayer isn't exactly normal either. But then again, my old man's married to girl younger than me, so… who am I to criticise her hobbies. Well, that, and she kind of looks nice in this outfit, even if I have no idea which series it's from. Reminds me how Aoi looks even more feminine than some of the girls back at the station.' Keeping such thoughts to himself, Nakajima was about to keep on with his questioning, since he still had not the foggiest ideas what was going on here, until another bike sort of appeared on the scene. Thankfully, this time it seemed that this wasn't just yet another weirdo, but a rather normal chap on a custom BMW with a sidecar. And while he was eternally grateful that this was the first thing today that actually made sense, it was Nakajima's duty to keep this person away from the accident scene. "Ah, I'm sorry, sir, but you can't approach! There's been an accident here!"

As Keiichi tried to come up with an excuse to explain his presence here, Ansuz grabbed the opportunity to prepare a spell to make everyone snap out of it. Even if this wasn't the preferred method to accomplish this goal, it was a much better alternative to just leaving them be, and thus the teal haired goddess began to chant under her breath. It was too quiet for either of the men to hear her, and besides, Keiichi did a great job distracting the officer.

"I was supposed to meet my… um… friend here, but then there was this commotion, and the traffic jam prevented me from getting here in time," lied Keiichi, as he struggled to make a cover up story, even though he had no talent at this sort of thing.

Looking somewhat confused for a moment, Nakajima suddenly realized that the poor guy must've been embarrassed to talk about his lady friend, especially if they weren't an official couple. Which from his perspective sounded quite relatable. "Oh, you mean the lady in the magical girl outfit? Hey, that's okay! Everyone has something they're passionate about, so it's no biggie to have a girlfriend who likes cosplaying."

"Whoah! That's _not_ my girlfriend! She's her _mother!_ " blurted Keiichi without thinking, although by the time he realized his blunder it was far too late to take it back. Yet, shockingly enough, rather than stare at him, the officer merely let out a heavy sigh.

"You too, huh? Well, at least it's your… um future mother-in-law, right? I mean, my pops married a girl that's actually younger than me! How crazy is _that?_ " laughed Nakajima, much to Keiichi's surprise.

Realizing that he's been staring, Keiichi offered an acknowledging nod, even though he was at a loss of words. After all, this was the first time he found someone with an even stranger backstory than him; which he previously thought impossible, given his own involvement with the immortal world. "Tell me about it… Although, I'm happy that she's okay. You know, with the accident and all that," said Keiichi after a while, especially when he noticed what Ansuz was doing, and therefore tried to distract the officer for long enough to allow the goddess to complete her incantation. Which she soon did, but without the slightest hint of subtlety. After all, Ansuz's spell caused a huge pillar of light to shoot straight up in the sky from where the goddess stood, with a powerful gust of air following up right after that. The end result was a harmless yet awfully noticeable twister to form around the teal haired goddess, which lasted for a good couple of seconds, until it finally dissipated as well. 'What have I done to deserve this?...'

Although it took a while for the crowd to completely shake off the effects of Ansuz's original spell, it was all but impossible to miss such a spectacle. Some had already forgotten about the car crash and now stared at this cosplayer in the surprisingly convincing outfit, given that in most cases, actual cosplayers tended to wear things that clearly didn't match this kind of quality and craftsmanship. Then again, it wasn't exactly common for humans to wear an Asgardian combat uniform, although at the time being, no one aside Keiichi could even tell the actual purpose of Ansuz' clothes.

Needless to say, the goddess in question was far from happy by the way things were developing, but she still had one last ace up her sleeve. Without any demon in the immediate area, the fed up goddess could use the command voice and resolve this, before she found out whether it was technically possible for Asgard's second in command to have her licence suspended. Not that she wouldn't kick her beloved husband out of the house for an equal amount of time if he ever did try to pull something of that kind on her. But if this came to happen, and word of such a debacle ever reached the ears of Hild… then Ansuz's disgrace would be unbearable. 'One thing at a time, though. First, get rid of all these humans, and then… get that insufferable demoness out of her containment.' Before she could even finish that thought, the sound of a fast approaching car caused her to curse under her breath; and quite colorfully too.

After almost getting lost a couple of times, the two frustrated police woman arrived at the scene of this accident, only to find that Nakajima beat them to it. Not that this was a problem, but the way he, and pretty much everyone else, kept staring at a bizarrely dressed woman who almost looked like a magical girl well past her retirement age, proved to be enough to share a look before they extended their Honda Today patroller.

"Hey, Ken! Everything's alright?" asked Natsumi, just to get him snap out of it, before her partner decided to chew the poor guy out, for ignoring his duty to stare at a cosplayer.

"Oh, you finally got here. Yeah… it's alright, but I'm not sure what's going on. There's a car in the river, although there's no sign of the driver. And I think there was a passenger who's also missing," replied the baffled officer, while Keiichi did his best to grab his and the newcomers' distraction to edge closer to Ansuz.

Strangely enough though, he wasn't the only one, as the second police woman offered her male colleague a cold stare, and then turned her head in Ansuz' direction. This naturally prompted Keiichi to come to a halt, as he didn't wish to look suspicious, and just waited to see what was going to happen. However, as he did, it was starting to become apparent that this dark haired woman vividly reminded him of someone else. As a matter of fact, her facial features were so similar to Belldandy's, that even Ansuz seem to reach the same conclusion, given how she was staring back at her.

Undaunted, Miyuki came to a stop mere steps away from Ansuz and tried to get some answers for a change, since up to this point all she had were questions. "Excuse me, miss, but can you tell me what's going on here?"

"You mean… other than the accident?"

"Yes. After all, I can't see anyone in the car," replied Miyuki, before pausing for a moment to figure out how to ask this without sounding too offensive. "Also, do you mind telling me who you're supposed to be impersonating? I'm afraid I'm a bit out of touch with modern day anime."

"Actually…" This time the struggle was real, as Ansuz also had no idea about anime, and even if she did, there was no way she could tell an outright lie. Up to this point she mostly dodged any tricky questions by sticking to the facts, but given this was no longer possible, she tried the second best thing available to her: let Keiichi handle this.

Noticing Ansuz stare in his direction, Keiichi made a mental note to spend more time thinking of cover up stories, just in case this sort of thing happened in the future. As for now, though, the poor mechanic had some serious trouble conjuring up a convincing excuse to get them out of this pinch. And given that this was technically the second time his name was likely to get involved in some kind of shady incident, with the first being Skuld's assault on Aoshima, it didn't take much for him to worry that they might take him in for a couple of questions.

So, when help arrived in the most unexpected fashion, Keiichi couldn't help but do a double take. Just across the street a black limo came to a stop near the crowd, almost as if the ones inside wished to find out what the commotion was all about. Needless to say, when one of the passengers lowered her window to take a better look, the crowd noticed that the woman on the other side of the tinted glass was none other than Belldandy, with Peorth sitting right next to her. Understandably, the unexpected arrival of two celebrities was more than enough to cause a stir that totally threw off the three officers, who suddenly found themselves busy trying to establish a perimeter around the accident scene. After all, more and more people started to flood in, and in the ensuing chaos, Ansuz found the perfect opportunity to grab Keiichi by the back of his jacket and make a run for it.

Of course, for a moment the fleeing duo did catch a glance of Belldandy smiling back at them, although not in such an obvious manner to alert those around her, which both Keiichi and Ansuz happily returned. And even though she also made an attempt to leave the scene, the fact that some of the fans were in front of the limo, only hindered the process. Which was exactly what Belldandy hoped for, as the only ones to resolve this situation were the three officers already in the scene; allowing Keiichi and her mother to make a run for it, while the others were distracted.

"Natsumi… remind me again why we volunteered for this assignment?" groaned Miyuki in utter frustration, as she and her partner had to temporarily step aside to let the more imposing Nakajima to convince the most stubborn fans to clear the way.

"Because we thought that we'd run into fewer weirdos, at least for a couple of days? Sure, there is no Strikeman, but… Ken actually saw two teens dressed in Kamen Rider outfits. And then there was woman from before, too," said Natsumi before she came to an abrupt halt.

"And instead of that, we got a whole day of _nothing else but weirdos_. It's funny how life works at times," sighed Miyuki, until she realized that her partner was intently staring at someone just across the street, and decided to follow her gaze. "What's wrong Natsumi?"

"Say… doesn't that blonde guy remind you of someone?" asked Natsumi as she pointed at one unfortunate Otaki Hikozaemon, who just happened to be walking alongside his best friend, Tamiya Toraichi, after a productive day of scouting for some lucky items in a local bazaar.

Unfortunately the coincidental resemblance between Otaki and a certain vigilante that occasionally liked to wreak havoc in their district. "Now that you mention it, he does look familiar. Perhaps a bit too cheerful?... But…"

"We better go and check out what's up with him, and those lucky cat statues he and that other guy are carrying," finished Natsumi, before she reached for her whistle, and blew it with more than enough strength to wake up the dead. "Hey you, with the blonde hair! Come here for a moment!"

Sharing an incredulous look, the two notorious troublemakers didn't take long to wonder if perhaps one of their antics had finally gotten them into trouble with the law. So, before they knew it, the chase was on.

"Whut have you duuune?!" shouted Tamiya over the commotion, as the two police women made a dash for their Honda and started the engine.

"Nothing! I'm innocent!" cried Otaki back in reply, as he briefly tried to look over his shoulder only to notice that there was no way to outrun or even evade a car. "You don't think it's for that statue we broke years ago?..."

"No way! We fixed dat with super glue!"

Meanwhile, Nakajima could only shake his head as he watched Miyuki and Natsumi give chase to the two guys who desperately tried to find an alley to lose them. Of course, with Natsumi's mini bike, that was going to be very hard, but they didn't know that; yet.

'Heh… wherever we go, there's always some trouble or another. I wonder if we're just unlucky, or maybe… too lucky for our own good.'

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone here and the Goddess Relief site for offering their continuing support.

This is the second part of the You're Under Arrest cameo, and I hope it was enjoyable for how long it lasted. Obviously this isn't a proper crossover story, so don't expect much more than that. As a matter of fact, with the current developments done and dusted here, I can move onto something a bit more familiar. Like Belldandy and Keiichi's relationship.

For those unfamiliar with You're Under Arrest, that's actually Mr Fujishima's first work, and I tried to throw a couple of nods in here. The similarity between Belldandy and Miyuki for instance is natural, given that what started as a special comic page where Miyuki granted a wish to Natsumi, quickly became so popular that AMG started a few months later. Additionally, it's hard to ignore the resemblance between Strikeman and Oraki, even though the latter is a lot more relaxed than the former.


	16. Chapter 16

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

 _Low Levels, Niflheim_

Although she heard a lot of things from her mother about this casino, Mara couldn't help but take a moment to appreciate the paradoxical sight of what appeared to be a celestial building right in the middle of Niflheim's basement. With this whole section of the city built underneath the rest of their capital, that followed what some affectionately described as a layered cake design, it was no wonder that a building of such grandeur looked almost out of place. After all, each of the so called layers were assigned to different classes of demons, and this particular one was by far the worst of them all. As a matter of fact, Mara never ventured here on her own, as her mother was quite adamant to keep her from entertaining the thought of finding an opportunity to join a local business.

For the majority of the demonesses seeking employment here, this simply meant that they had to choose between becoming strippers, or waitresses, with each job having its pros and cons. But in Mara's case, she possessed something more valuable than good looks alone, since her knowledge of bioengineering, and the synthesis of magical artifacts was in high demand. Given how regulated this particular field was, there were all sorts of individuals who sought for an opportunity to experiment without having to worry about the almost ridiculous number of laws and regulations that had to abide, at least unless they wanted to get themselves sealed. And in a place like this, some demons found to the opportunity to look for some convenient loopholes in order to set up some rather shady businesses that could make the best out of Mara's expertice.

'So, this is Urd's casino? I kind of expected a dingy bar or something, but this… actually looks nice.' Perhaps more surprising for her was the fact that not too long ago, Urd was actually managing this place. As in, doing _real_ work that involved bookkeeping and other tasks that must've been utterly boring for the goddess she knew; yet somehow, Urd's current self was apparently more than capable of handling them.

That was far from the biggest surprise for Mara, as the next one was just around the corner, when she realized that the buxom lady in what seemed to be a goddess' attire… was none other than her own mother. Now, despite appearances, Fehu wasn't exactly unhinged, even though she enjoyed playing that role just for the giggles, or in certain cases to throw people off, by giving them a false impression about her personality. Still, seeing her mother dressed in what could be best described as a red version of Belldandy's goddess dress, even with a few modifications that included a pair of sandals, was such an outlandish experience that left her at a loss of words. "M-Mom? Is that _really_ you?"

"Do you even need to ask, Ma-chan? Of course that's me! I'm just wearing my work uniform, since we've got an Asgardian theme and all that." replied Fehu with such an innocent smile that caused her daughter to take an involuntary step back. "What's the problem, sweetheart? Doesn't this look great on me? Personally, I find it far more comfortable than those Playboy bunny uniforms that are all the rage these days."

"Well, it's… an interesting choice of dress, I'll give you that much," said Mara, in an attempt to sound somewhat diplomatic, even if she privately thought that this just wasn't her mother's style. "Anyway, I came here to-"

"To give me _this_ , yes?" Much to her daughter's surprise, Fehu held up a keychain with the USB flash drive that contained Welsper's sealed form. Obviously, her daughter needed to pay more attention to her surroundings, as well as secure such items a lot better than that. Sure, Fehu had to admit that using a chibi version of her to grab Welsper's container while her main body distracted her daughter with her dress, was a bit of a dirty trick. But then again, it was this kind of lessons that proved to be the most useful in the long run. On the other hand, Fehu had no intention to deprive her daughter the satisfaction of getting a job done, so she immediately stopped with her teasing and handed the container back to Mara. "There you go, dear."

"Wait, why are you giving this to me?" asked the confused Mara, as she stared at the offered item. "I know that this isn't the reanimated human you told me about, but I thought that his accomplice would still make a nice prisoner."

"Oh, that goes without saying, Ma-chan. It's just that I'd rather have you bring him in to our Intelligence Sector, and in the process get full credit for it. After all, capturing a first class demon is far more challenging compared to a magically enhanced human, so this could be the ideal comeback for you, dear."

"Well, if you put it like that… don't mind if I do," said Mara with a slight smirk as she stashed the USB drive into her clothes, but this time made sure to properly secure it in a pocket dimension she uses to carry her valuables. "Still, since I came all this way here, how about you show me around? This place looks really nice."

"You bet it is! Urd actually did such a great job with this casino, that it might be the best place to visit here. Come, I'll get you a drink in the bar, and then we can play together for a while. It's been a long time since we last hang around like this."

XXX

 _Earth_

After a prolonged phone call where she explained the whole situation to her husband in great detail, Ansuz felt so drained that the first thing she did was to plop onto her daughter's bed and refuse to budge. Even after Skuld approached her to see if she was asleep, all the elder goddess did was to flap her head winglets as if to let her know that she was still awake, but other than that, she offered little in ways of expressing her inner thoughts.

"Hey, come on mum! It wasn't _that_ bad!" said Skuld in an effort to cheer her up, but all that Ansuz did was to offerer a muffled grunt, as she remained lying face down on the bed. "Seriously, who's the kid now? Come on! You've been doing this for the last half hour, so give it a rest already! You can't always have things go your way in life, you know. Sometimes… shit happens," she added in an attempt to finally make her mother snap out of it. And though this initially proved ineffective, Ansuz eventually offered her a muffled response that Skuld didn't quite understand, so she attempted to ask what she meant by that. "Uh… mom? Can you repeat that? I didn't quite get it."

" _Oh, for fuck's sake, mind your language!_ " repeated Ansuz, as she briefly lifted her head up, and in the process baffle her daughter with that response.

"You do realize how ironic that sounds, right?" said Skuld after a short pause, during which her mother let out a disgruntled huff and plopped her head back onto the bed. This time though, Ansuz turned to face her daughter and quietly studied her features for a good minute or two. "What?"

"Nothing, I just… wonder if you actually grew up, right under my nose. It's easy to dismiss it due your watch, but you sure act somewhat different from before," noted Ansuz, much to her daughter's immense satisfaction.

After all, this was the long awaited moment when her efforts to become an adult, finally started to pay off. Sure, Skuld knew all too well that she was still far from an actual adult, but at the very least those around her would no longer dismiss her opinions as nothing more than a child's ramblings. But to maintain this impression, Skuld tried to resist the urge to boast about it, or make any other immature comment that would only prove her mother wrong. "Well, I sure gained some experiences from this whole mess, but then again, that's the same with everyone else. Even _you_ are acting a bit different, mom."

"I won't deny it… I suppose it's been quite some time since I last took such a hands-on assignment. Even submitting the occasional couple to the Judgment Gate was kind of routine, and not one I was terribly fond of anyway. Either way, I guess this whole thing brought back some memories. I just wish… that stupid fiasco never happened," admitted Ansuz, even if this provided little to no explanation for the recent fiasco. Then again, everyone had a bad day once in a while, and she was no exception to that rule.

"Tell me about it. At least we caught one of those guys, although… is it really ok to hand him to the demons?"

"I suppose so. In a situation like this, it's better to rely on diplomacy, rather than escalating things even further. Besides, with Urd being the Daimakaicho's deputy, we should have access to all the intel they're gonna get out of him," said Ansuz, before she finally decided that it was about time she stopped brooding. As such, she got up from the bed and lazily stretched, before she realized that she hadn't seen their roomate since breakfast. "Hey, Skuld… where's Keiichi?"

"He's preparing for his next date with Belldandy. You see, she and Peorth are going on a tour, so Keiichi plans to use that as an opportunity meet her during the group's free time between the concerts."

"Wait, when did _that_ happen?" asked the confused Ansuz, as she honestly didn't remember hearing any of this from her daughter.

"Oh, it's been decided a couple of days ago, but Belldandy only heard about it yesterday. Still, with all that nonsense that took place, she kind of forgot to tell us anything about it. So, she called up earlier and asked Keiichi if he wanted to meet her during the tour. Plus, she's got tickets for all three of us, and a reservation on a four star hotel to boot!" said Skuld with a big smile as she brought up a brochure she printed from the hotel's webpage. "Here, this is where we'll be staying! Not bad, huh?"

Ansuz accepted the offered leaflet and quickly went through its contents, that more or less confirmed her daughter's claims. Still, chief among the details that caught her attention was the hotel's very location, that prompted her to comment about it. "Hold on, this is taking place in Hawaii? Is this really a tour or a vacation?"

"Kinda both if you ask me," said Skuld with a casual shrug. "But hey, who cares? After all this time, spending a day in the beach is totally worth it!"

While her daughter's enthusiasm was understandable, Ansuz couldn't help but wonder if the faux adult didn't learn her lesson after all. This time however, she was going to chaperone her daughter, before the young Norn pulled another stunt like that. "In that case, I suppose we should start by picking proper swimsuits for us."

"Yeah, yeah… you don't need to be so obvious mom! Besides, it's not like I was gonna pull an Urd and go topless or something!" groaned Skuld, and even frowned at her mother who immediately tried to rephrase her previous statement.

"That's not… what I said, dear. I believe that it's about time we go shopping together."

"Right… I guess we can do that later on. I'm still busy trying to help Keiichi with his preparations," said Skuld, and then threw a thumb in the lake's direction. "You see, he's got no idea how to swim, so I've built him a swimming board, so he can learn without the fear of sinking like a stone."

"That's quite thoughtful of you, Skuld," replied Ansuz with a smile, since she still found it hard to believe that her youngest daughter would be this helpful towards someone who wanted to get closer to Belldandy. After all, in the past, Skuld used to be too protective of her middle sister, and would've absolutely hate it if someone like Keiichi tried to flirt with Bell. Yet somehow, the current Skuld was not only handing this way better than she would've expected, but she was also actively trying to help Keiichi, too.

The Norn of the future could only puff up her chest in pride at such praise… only to visibly deflate when the distant sound of high-powered yet compact engine interrupted the peace and quiet around the lake. She didn't even need to look outside the window to know what had taken place, although her mother did, and judging by her expression, it wasn't good. "Oh, no… he must've found the emergency accelerator switch."

"Hold on a second, Skuld! That thing has an engine?" asked the incredulous Ansuz, not due to the fact that her daughter managed to squeeze something like that in such a small flotation device, but primarily because of how powerful it seemed to be. "And besides… I've heard of emergency breaks before, but what the heck's an emergency accelerator?"

"It's something to get you out of trouble." said Skuld as she nervously scratched her chin, trying to come up with a practical scenario for such a device. "You know, in case he was chased by a shark or something like that."

"For someone so smart, you can be such a dolt sometimes!" snapped Ansuz as she headed for the door. "Now come help me get him on terra firma, before something happens!"

"Okay, okay! I'm coming! You don't need to tell me twice!"

XXX

 _Muspelheim_

"Well, here we are, Lind!" cheerfully annourced Urd, much to her bodyguard's chagrin. Just a couple of hours ago, the Norn has announced her decision to visit the fire realm for the first time in what must've been an eternity for her. Either way, Urd seemed quite pleased about the prospect of setting foot on her mother's homeworld, which initially baffled Lind; given how moody Urd used to be whenever her demonic ancestry came to play.

This time though, the half demoness showed some interest to find out more about her birthplace, even if she wasn't actually raised here. And while Lind could understand Urd's interest in Muspelheim, she also had her own idea as to why her friend brought her to this particular realm. "This… is to get me back for freezing your ass during the training, isn't it?"

"Oh? Did I just hear right, or did you just say the A-word!" said Urd with a big smile, as she leaned closer to the admittedly confused Lind. "I see that you're expanding your vocabulary. Nice going, girl!"

"Seriously? Are you really going to make a fuss about something as silly as that? It's a simple word for what everyone sits on. Nothing more, nothing less." Shaking her head in amazement -rather than amusement- Lind wasn't sure if her friend was teasing her, or just messing around as she normally did. "Now, enough with this nonsense. Can you at least tell me why we're here?"

"Isn't it obvious enough? I want some info about those two brats. Just as I thought that there was only one of them, Skuld run into another, and I want answers."

"Well, I want answers too, but what I don't get is why we're in _Muspelheim_. Those kids were clearly equipped in Jotunheim's military gear, so, sorry to say it like this… _but we're in the wrong realm_." Finding it hard not to shoot a glare at the aggravatingly happy half demoness, Lind felt that she had to give her a lecture about their priorities, unil a rather commanding presence entered her perception. Even though she couldn't feel any obvious hostility from whoever deliberately tried to grab their attention, Lind prepared herself for a fight, especially after that whole Adephagos debacle.

Noticing the change in her bodyguard's mood, as well as stance, Urd followed Lind's gaze, only to find Surt walking down the road. Strangely enough though, the ruler of Muspelheim didn't seem to head in their direction, but rather he walked towards a coffee shop further down the street. "Well, that's strange. How did he miss us?" wondered Urd out loud, mostly to grab her bodyguard's attention, who must be thinking the very same thing.

"There's no way he did. Rather… he's deliberately ignoring us," noted Lind, before she mentally kicked herself for not thinking this already. "Of course! This is an unofficial visit. There's no reason for him to make a big fuss about it, especially when we want to discuss things _off the record_."

"So what? It's not like I was expecting a parade. A simple greeting would be more than enough, you know."

"Maybe… although you're telling that to the wrong person here. Your princess is another castle," replied Lind with an indifferent shrug, before she pointed in Surt's direction, who already entered the coffee shop.

The Norn's surprise by Lind's choice of words was so big that she didn't even bother looking in the direction the latter was pointing at. Instead, she raised her eyebrows in disbelief, as this was actually the first time she got this kind of response from her. "Okay, who are you and what you've done to Lind? Seriously, if this is one of your tricks, Hagall… I swear I'll-" snarled Urd as she reached to grab the blue haired demoness' chest, given that the last time their illustrious leader attempted to spy on her, she did it under Lind's guise. Back then, almost two years ago, Hagall's less than stellar acting was what blew her cover, and just a physical confirmation of her illusion was more than enough for Urd to completely break off her influence. Of course, the blondie was lucky that she had a rather substantial number of guards on standby, or she would've had her rear handed to her on the spot; but this wasn't the case right now.

Then again, there was one more thing that also wasn't the case in the current situation, and in a manner of speaking, it was even more serious: the demoness she was manhandling, wasn't the disguised Daimakaicho. This, along with the initial surprise painted in Lind's face proved more than enough reason for Urd to reel back, realized the magnitude of her blunder. " _D-Dammit! S-Sorry about that!_ I… I thought you were that stupid… _Ugh!_ "

Although it took her a good couple of seconds to snap out of her stupor, Lind didn't seem to react strongly to Urd's faux pass, which totally took the latter by surprise. "It's rare to hear you stutter like this. What? You thought I forgot that time she tried to impersonate me?"

"No… but then again, I don't see any reason _not_ to get pissed off by that," admitted Urd, as she started to wonder just how it was possible for the former Valkyrie to keep her cool under such circumstances. Even her stoic personality wasn't enough to fully explain Lind's calmness, which further prompted Urd to find out what up with that unexpectedly low key response. "Seriously, Lind… Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, I do," said Lind with a roll of her eyes. "After you told me to calm down on more occasions I even care to count… the moment _I actually followed your advice_ , you take me for crazy. And for the record, I'm using the years I spent with you as the basis on what's normal. So, you shouldn't find the end result as strange as anyone else would."

"I'm really flattered, Lind. But… I'm what you might call a bad influence," said Urd with a surprisingly sober tone, especially towards the end. On the other hand, she was rather surprised to hear such a thing from anyone, given that even her sisters never told her something like that. Sure, Urd's influence was more than apparent in the younger Norns' case, especially in Skuld's case, yet even then they didn't explicitly acknowledge it. So, to hear this from Lind -of all people- was even more shocking, especially given the implications behind this statement. "Besides, I never thought you spent so much time studying me."

"In all fairness, it's part of my Valkyrie training paying attention to my surroundings. And after I spent more than two years living with you, I kind of learned how you normally act. Which is exactly why I didn't punch you for grabbing my chest like that." While Lind's intention was undoubtedly to reassure her that she didn't take offense from that unfortunate gesture, she only made matters worse thanks to her limited knowledge on cracking up a joke. Or rather… using Urd's sense of humor in a situation like this wasn't the brightest of ideas. "Besides, that did felt good... in a sense."

The warrior's uncanny ability to say something like that without feeling embarrassed, left Urd with a perplexed expression on her face that could only be described as a big _what_. And as if that wasn't enough, Lind chose that very moment to crack one of those feint smiles of hers, that given the whole context, could be easily mistaken for an awkward attempt at courtship. 'Am I going mad? Is this even reality? Because I think she's… into me? I mean…that's _Lind_ we're talking about, right?' Urd's disbelief was so great that for a good couple of seconds, all she could do was to simply stare at the somewhat confused warrior, since Lind totally missed the implications of her own statement, leaving her wonder what the problem really was.

She was about to ask the Norn why she was staring her like that, when Lind felt that pesky presence from before; only this time it came from much closer. Turning sharply to the left, Lind found Surt standing a couple of meters away from them, with a cup of iced coffee at hand and… an uncharacteristic smile on his face. "Mind sharing the joke with the rest of us?"

Despite the obvious sarcasm in Lind's voice, the leader of Muspelheim remained undaunted and shifted his gaze to Urd, and then back at Lind once more. "Oh, it's nothing… I'm just happy that you chose my realm for your honeymoon. This is the kind of endorsement I need to boost up tourism."

" _We're not married!_ " shouted the two demonesses in perfect sync, much to Surt's enjoyment.

"Could've fooled me for a moment," muttered the ruler of Muspelheim while casually taking a sip from his coffee. However, as funny as it was for him to watch those two simmer in rage, he knew that there were more important things to discuss, so, fun time was over. "Anyway!... I bet you didn't come here for that."

"That's right. Although, I don't think this is the best place for a private conversation," said Urd, after she managed to recompose herself, since the only thing Lind wanted to do with him was to murder his face for that joke, leaving no room for discussion.

"Hm… how about I buy you a cup of coffee? My treat of course," suggested Surt as he briefly glanced in the direction of the coffee shop. "The owner is a friend, so, we can arrange for a quiet place for us to talk there."

"Very well, let's get this over with," sighed Urd, before she followed after the demon, with Lind reluctantly doing the same, since she was trying to figure out just what she said could be taken as the interaction between honeymooners.

XXX

 _Earth_

One of the biggest inconveniences of being a celebrity is that there was no real sense of privacy -let alone peace- on a nearly constant basis. And for Belldandy the initial relief of being out of that hotel room she's been cooped up as of late, was only replaced with an equally asphyxiating feeling of being watched wherever she went. In all honesty though, it wasn't the demons who posed the biggest problem to her, since she couldn't care less about their opinion of what she was doing. Instead, it was the mortals who troubled her the most, especially after the fiasco that took place back in Nekomi. Due to that mess, extra measures had been taken to prevent another incident like that, which mostly translated into having as many mortals around them as possible. From buying them first class air tickets instead of chartering a jet just for themselves, to even going as far as leaking their schedule to the press, just so that they had paparazzi tailing them everywhere, the demons wasted no opportunity to blackmail them into keeping up the facade of being nothing more than human celebrities.

In a way, this put her in a very strange situation, since Belldandy did actually have some experience with being treated like a celebrity; albeit in Asgard. Still, the differences couldn't be more noticeable, as celebrities on Earth tended to behave in a far more selfish and petty manner than the average goddess. Sure, that wasn't some kind of rule, and there were more than enough examples of the opposite, but the number of greedy and spoiled people in this kind of profession was depressing.

Needless to say, the middle Norn was far from naive enough to think that everything in the mortal realm worked the exact same way as in Asgard. Still, the fact that the local press tried to deconstruct her every action in hopes of finding an excuse to throw some dirt at her, was appalling As a goddess she spent so much time trying her best to make everyone happy, and yet these humans spent an almost equal amount of time and energy to hurt others. To say that this made no sense to her would be an understatement, but more than anything else, it raised the question whether or not their job as goddesses even made a difference in the first place.

"Hey, what's up with the long face? I thought you were done with that phase… Don't tell me you had a spat with your cute boyfriend."

The Norn of the present was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she totally missed her roommate's approach, causing her to almost jump up when she finally heard her. Turning around to properly face the fellow brunette, Belldandy noticed that she was proudly gallivanting around in an itsy bitsy bikini that was strongly reminiscent of her _goddess attire_ , even if this one was a tad more revealing. Aside from the additional two more horizontal cutouts on her bikini top, that barely left much to cover her, Peorth's bikini bottom was of the thong variety that proudly displayed her assets for the whole world to see. "First of all, I didn't get into a fight with Keiichi. And second… cover your ass, will you? We're supposed to be pop stars, not bordello girls."

"Did anyone tell you how harsh you sound at times?" asked Peorth rhetorically while she offered her friend a hurt look. "Seriously, girl… you need to chill a bit, or you might end up blowing a gasket. Isn't that how the saying goes?" Offering her a moment to reply, Peorth waited until it became crystal clear that the Norn wasn't going to, and so the demoness carried on. "Let me guess… You had one of those existential crises again. And here I thought you'd cheer up a bit now that you've got yourself a squeeze."

"Keiichi's not my squeeze!" replied Belldandy so urgently that forced her to reconsider her words. "I mean, he's my boyfriend, but we barely got the chance to spend time together."

"So what? Everyone starts from somewhere, and this is the best opportunity to do that. We've got sun… the weather's perfect, just an ideal chance to take him to the beach," said Peorth, before she leaned close to the Norn and whispered to her. "It would be way easier to bring him here, than try to date him back in Nekomi. There are far fewer guards around us, and none of the locals knows about Keiichi."

Although she felt compelled to dismiss the notion as too dangerous, Belldandy had to admit that meeting Keiichi here would've been perfect. The only real problem in her mind was how she was supposed to make that happen, especially after what took place in Nekomi. "Even so, we're _not_ totally unguarded. And with that fiasco back in Japan, I doubt that they'll turn a blind eye if I try to get him here."

"What if I tell you that I can arrange it? I may not make a big deal about it, but I do have my way with people. And believe it or not, some of the guards… owe me a favor or two."

Belldandy's elegant brows furrowed in concern, as she shot her friend a quizzical look, only to get cryptic smile from her. "How's that possible? You haven't done anything… illegal, have you?"

"Depends…" purred Peorth, leaving the Norn to speculate for a second or two, until she decided it was better to tell her; or rather show her. The brunette extended her palm and within seconds a series of runes manifested millimeters above her palm, which in turn caused a small cylindrical object to appear. "This is a Rose Essence extract, that I made from my flowers. And for some reason, it's still emanating a celestial 'scent' even though I'm currently a demoness. I suppose that's because deep down, we're still unaffected by Hagall's method of converting us. Either way, this is pretty valuable to certain demons, seeking for rare potion ingredients. And this one's probably illegal to handle, thanks to its nature."

"Hm… that's unexpected. I failed to use any of my previous powers, but…"

"Actually I can't use them either, but this is a byproduct of my powers. Maybe it's so low level, that even our current powers can't affect it," suggested Peorth, given that she had no hypothesis to explain this phenomenon.

Offering a nod, Belldandy picked up the vial to give its content a better look, and sure enough it was filled with a clear fluid that gave off a sweet floral scent even through its container. "It's true. That feels like something associated with a goddess. Although… how come demons find this so valuable?"

" _Tsk, tsk!_ Value is a relative concept, Belldandy. As long as you advertise a certain commodity in the right manner, there's always going to be someone who'll do anything to get it. Well… okay, maybe not anything, but I can certainly earn myself a few favors. Like allowing a certain mortal to get near you."

"Thank you! I'd definitely love that!" said Belldandy as she caught the other demoness in a tight hug that initially surprised the latter, before she returned the favor. "Do you think that it's possible to have him here, before the concert starts?"

"Teleportation is a convenient tool, Belldandy. Still, I don't want to sound rude, but I feel that you owe me one for this," added Peorth with a cheeky grin, causing her friend to give an apprehensive look. "Now, don't stare at me like that. I'm not planning to pull anything strange on you. It's just that I feel I could help you make an impression on your boyfriend."

"Ah… that's… really kind of you, Peorth," said Belldandy with a fair bit of awkwardness evident in her voice, since she had more concerns to even start counting them. "However, I'd prefer not to wear anything _too_ flashy. Like..."

"Like a bordello girl?" finished Peorth for her, and then pointedly crossed her arms while narrowing her eyes at the embarrassed Norn. "You know, I really hate it when others patronize me. Besides, don't judge what you haven't seen yet. For all you know, I might have the common sense to suggest something sensible for you."

"I'm sorry, Peorth," apologized the Norn, as she lowered her head a bit. "You're right, that was quite rude of me. So, what do you have in mind for my beach date with Keiichi?"

"Oh, you're gonna love this!"

XXX

 _Muspelheim_

Once the trio managed to overcome the initial awkwardness and all involved parties decided to set their differences aside, the subsequent discussion proved truly interesting; especially for Urd. Apparently, the owner of this shop knew her mother from back when Hild was a teenager, so, she kept visiting even much later on. And there were photos from some of her later visits, with one particular being the most important in Urd's eyes: the first official appearance of Hild with her baby daughter. As a matter of fact, this was the first time Urd saw a photo of herself at such a young age, and those expressive purple orbs staring at the camera were captivating to her older self. Figuratively speaking, it was as if she was literally staring at her past, and vice versa. 'She… no, _I_ … look so happy, almost as if I cared about nothing at all. Well, I guess that's life for a baby, but, I really didn't want to let go of her.'

For her part, Lind sought an opportunity to avoid being in Surt's company for longer than it was absolutely necessary, and joining Urd seemed the most obvious course of action. Still, she had to admit that standing next to the obviously moved Norn, left her with a rather awkward feeling, since she wasn't quite sure how to handle something like this. "Time really passes."

"Yeah… I find it crazy that this is actually me on the photo. I can't remember the time I was this close to my mother, even though I'm sure that this was a thing in the past."

Despite the awkwardness, Lind found something about this whole situation to be relatable, and even though this wasn't the best opportunity for such a discussion, she decided to ask anyway. "Have you ever regretted about the past?"

"Huh?" asked Urd, as she cast a curious gaze at the former Valkyrie, thanks to her rather unexpected question. "Where did that come from?"

"Just curiosity," said Lind with a casual shrug. It was mostly to cover up for her blunder at asking something she shouldn't, since she honestly didn't know what she even wanted to know, aside from the fact that she had her own share of past regrets.

"You can't live this long without having a few regrets, Lind. This is a possibility for mortals, but even then, it heavily depends on the circumstances. For us… it's a reality. Still, I don't want to let this weigh me down, so, I try to focus on the good things that happened. In this case, while I missed my mother, I did gain a fantastic little sister, and later on, another one." Even the mention of her sisters was enough to bring up a bright smile on Urd's face, but to lighten off the mood, she comically stuck her tongue, and added in a much less serious manner. "Okay, I'm exaggerating. That baby sister of mine is one little punk."

This time, it was Lind's turn to get surprised by Urd's response, since Urd didn't seem to be the kind of woman to give such topics too much thought. Then again, appearances can be indeed deceiving, and besides, Urd's reputation in Asgard was heavily biased. "Perhaps you're right. I tend to focus too much on the unhappy things, and as a result, I often don't appreciate the good ones. Who knows?... If I wasn't like this, maybe the others wouldn't avoid me as much."

"Is this why you tried to act like me, moments ago?"

"For the most part, yes. Like you said, your approach is very different from mine, so, I might as well learn a thing from you," said Lind, before she offered Urd one of her rare smiles. "Although, my jokes are pretty bad."

"Amen to that," laughed Urd. It was actually quite ironic that she got the joke just right when she wasn't even trying, but in the end, Urd didn't care. Any kind of improvement was a welcome change in her eyes, especially right now that a small boost in morale could have a profound effect. Still, given that they weren't here on vacations, Urd gave Lind a pat on the shoulder and gestured in Surt's direction, to which the blue haired demoness nodded back. "Now, where were we?"

"Discussing the identity of those teens, I believe." To his credit, Surt kept to himself during the whole exchange between Urd and Lind, allowing the two to freely interact without him poking his nose into their business. Morale was crucial under such circumstances, and Surt didn't think for a moment that this was merely a joyride for those two, so, anything that helped them take their mind off their troubles was important to them. "Now, there's no way I would outfit a kid with combat gear. Every resident of this realm takes great pride in our garrison's forces, so there's no way I'd let them use our uniforms for playing war games. And let's not even mention that the ones you're talking about were actually wearing _Jotunheim's_ uniforms."

"Trust me, I'm well aware of that. Still, that doesn't mean that no one would try to do that as a diversion."

"Even so, we still keep track of anything and everyone that comes and goes to and from our realm," retorted Surt, a bit more harshly at first, but then relented and tried a more diplomatic approach. "If you really want to make sure, feel free to drop by the Command Center, and we can go through the security records."

"Hm… I have a feeling that this will take a while. So, I'll have to take your word for it, then." As much as she hated to admit it, there was no way they had the time to personally go through all that data on her own. Even with all her experience as a system administrator, it was impossible to shift through such a large amount of data mostly on her own; since that wasn't Lind's forte. "This still leaves us with a problem, though. Can you at least give me a hand with this? I have a feeling that I'm going to get nothing from Skrymir as well."

The ruler of Muspelheim remained quiet for a couple of seconds, and then looked from side to side, making sure that no one was listening in. "I have some contacts in Ratatoskr, so they can provide us with some useful intel. You need to wait for a bit though. This kind of thing takes some time."

"I suppose that can't be helped," said Urd in resignation. "In the meanwhile, we'll just pretend that this was merely a casual visit. Something about my… dunno, birthplace?"

"Got it. Still, I suppose a little tour wouldn't hurt. Just enjoy your coffee, and we can start later."

XXX

 _Hawaii, Earth_

"Well? How do I look?" Turning around to let the two goddesses take a good look of his swimming trunks, that also coupled as his shorts, along with a simple, white t-shirt. Of course, the whole point was to look as plain as possible, since the last thing they needed was to have him attract too much attention. That was the only way to approach Belldandy without causing yet another incident, and with what happened last time, it was for the best to avoid it.

"Hm… that won't do at all!" announced Ansuz after studying his outfit for a good couple of seconds, much to Skuld's surprise.

"Huh? Why? He looks okay to me," said Skuld, who for once was back in her real form, rather than prancing about as an adult. On top of that, she wore a one piece swimsuit that actually matched her mother's, even down to the color: a pure, celestial white. Of course, this was the outcome of a near blunder on her part, when Skuld asked Keiichi's opinion about her two piece, side-tie bikini that was clearly meant to be worn in her adult form. Naturally, the moment Ansuz caught word of it, the whole idea was scrapped, and Skuld was to remain in her true form until further notice.

"I never said that he looks bad; just that he's not good enough for a date," clarified Ansuz in her own defence. "You see, with such loose fit shorts and t-shirt, Keiichi looks even smaller than he actually is. Insead, a form fitting swimwear and a hawaiian shirt would make him much more attractive in Belldandy's eyes."

"I beg to differ," retorted Skuld, before Keiichi even got the chance to offer his opinion on the subject. Crossing her arms, Skuld shot her mother a defiant look, and then glanced over at Keiichi, who at this point could only blink back at her. "Just because we're in Hawaii, doesn't mean we need to go for every possible stereotype there is. Going for something fresh will definitely catch my sister's attention."

"Hold on! Didn't _you_ pick an american flag bikini, _and_ a front-tie, _hawaiian themed_ crop top?" sarcastically asked Ansuz, while leaning forward with her hands on her hips, for extra effect. "Well... who's stereotypical now?"

" _Urk!..._ I…" Backing away from her mother, as her resolve began to quiver, Skuld turned to her closest source of help. "Keiichi, say something!"

"What? Don't drag me into this! Besides… I need to get going," said Keiichi in a desperate attempt to avoid getting involved in one of their arguments. Sure, they did get along really nicely, but at the same time, they loved to argue about silly things like that. In a way, it was their way of bonding with each other, yet that didn't mean it was safe for him to give that a try too.

For once, they didn't seem to mind it, and Ansuz even handed him a fanny pack with all the essentials he'd gonna need on a date. "Here, I've got a tiny sun tan bottle, your fake ID, and a credit card to pay for your expenses. Also, I gave you an expensive smartphone to not only call us in case of an emergency, but also as a status symbol."

"I made it, by the way," quipped Skuld, raising her hand as if she was in a classroom, and earned herself an affectionate pat on the head from her mother.

"That's my smart girl!"

Keiichi secured the travelling bag around his waist and offered the two goddesses a warm smile, before he checked his watch one more time. "Thank you, girls! I need to go, now. So, wish me luck!" With his smile still on his face, Keiichi walked away from the two goddesses who waved back at him and then tried to recall the route to the meeting location with Belldandy.

XXX

The so called meeting point was in fact a rather popular beach, where there were so many people that with the proper disguise, one could easily blend into the crowd. In Belldandy's case, that was once more a change in her hairstyle, as well as hair color, although this time she went a bit further to ensure that only one man amongst the crowd will recognize her. Belldandy's hair color was now a platinum blonde, just a bit darker than Urd's, and she even let her hair it down, but in slightly wavy hairdo that was also reminiscent of one of her sister's old styles. In addition to that, she put on a lotion to instantly give herself a rather noticeable tan, that together with her concealed facial markings, gave her a visage that was extremely similar to the eldest Norn; almost as if they were full-blooded sisters. On top of it, she was also wearing one of Urd's tiger print sling bikinis, although in Belldandy's case, it was a far more concealing.

All in all, Peorth's idea seemed to do the trick, since nobody thus far managed to see through her disguise, even if there was shortage of men who attempted to pick her up, while she waited for Keiichi's arrival. Belldandy even checked the time in her phone, given that her boyfriend was a tad late, and briefly wondered if she went so far with her disguise, that he totally failed to recognize her.

'I thought I sent him a photo of me, before I left the hotel. Could it be that he didn't check his emails?' wondered the troubled Norn, since she had to remind herself that Keiichi was a surprisingly old-fashioned guy for a man of his age. Or rather, his priorities were vastly different compared to other men of his age group, since his previous employment problems taught him to spend a lot less money on things that he personally considered as luxuries. And while it was debatable whether modern means of communications were a luxury or a necessity at this time and age, Belldandy worried whether Keiichi was even aware how she looked or not.

"Excuse me, miss…" came a voice from behind her, and for a split second, Belldandy was about to dismiss him as just another hopeful suitor. However, she soon realized that his voice sounded somewhat familiar, and thus turned to take a look at him; and stared.

A bronze skinned Keiichi, stood before her, almost as if he spent several days under the scorching sun. "Keiichi? Is that really you? What… happened?"

"Ah… it's kind of funny, but I tried to put on a sunscreen lotion that your mother gave me, and all of a sudden… Well, you see," said Keiichi with a nervous chuckle. "Also, sorry about before. I was almost sure it was you, but from up close, you look even more different. So, I worried that I would make a blunder and… cause an incident with a total stranger."

"Oh, that's fine! It took me some effort to recognize you, too," giggled Belldandy, as she made an attempt to retrieve her phone from her handbag to take a photo of them, only to realize that Keiichi beat her to it, and already fiddled with his own smartphone's camera settings. The design was relatively familiar -almost identical to her own model- but the marking on the back was definitely her sister's forehead symbol, and judging by the looks of it, the phone came with much more functionality, compared to the human-made models. "Is that my sister's?"

"Yep! Skuld made it just for me," replied Keiichi, just as he finally managed to figure out the camera's menu and switched to the selfie mode. "Okay, give me a nice smile, Bell!" said the overjoyed mortal, as he wrapped an arm around the disguised Norn, who returned the gesture and made a peace sign with her free hand, while Keiichi snapped the photo.

"One more!" urged Belldandy, to which her boyfriend had no reason not to comply. But this time, just before he took the photo, she turned and kissed his cheek, much to Keiichi's surprise. Actually, she hit the button for one more selfie, just for the sake of recording his flustered look. "You're blushing!"

"Hey! Anyone would do the same!" protested Keiichi, although his almost goofy smile was still plastered on his face. "Besides… you didn't warn me!"

"What's the point? It's so much better when such things happen spontaneously. Otherwise, it feels kind of forced." And to prove her point, Belldandy leaned in to place a peck on Keiichi's lips, causing him to blush so hard that he looked as if he suffered a heat stroke. 'Oh dear… Did I go too far?'

"Ah… ah… eh…" Given that it wasn't his most dignified moment, Keiichi decided to shut up, and then collect his thoughts. Still, that was easier said than done, given that the sensation of Belldandy's soft lips, along with her gorgeous feature turned his brain into jello. "B-Belldandy… w-would you l-like some ice?"

"Ice?" asked the confused Norn, only for Keiichi to realize his blunder and mentally kick himself.

"Wait, I meant, ice-cream!" corrected the dark haired mortal, and then looked around for the closest ice-cream stall. Thankfully for him, luck was on his side for once, and he found just what he needed not too far from their spot. "There!"

"Actually, I wouldn't mind trying some, Keiichi," replied Belldandy as she got hold of his arm, and pressed it closer to her chest. The Norn briefly wondered if she was a tad too obvious, since her boyfriend flinched the moment he felt her top against his arm, but then again, she saw more than enough couples do the same, too.

"Y-Yes, sure thing, Bell!"

XXX

It didn't take long for the dating couple to realize that most of the people waiting in the line, fell into two categories: couples, and children. And while he tried to ignore the former -who obviously felt jealous about his date- the latter weren't nearly as discreet and openly stared at them.

"Sir? Are you two married?" asked a preschooler, whose mother wasn't nearly as attentive to her, compared to her triple portion of chocolate ice cream.

Naturally, this kind of question took Keiichi off guard, but with so many eyes on him, he felt that it was absolutely necessary to avoid making a fool of himself. "No, not yet," replied Keiichi in somewhat accented English, and thankfully enough, the girl's mother handed her an ice cream cone, which was more than enough to make her forget about him and Bell. As such, he felt a wave of relief that he was one step closer to buy the ice cream they came here for, and then retreat towards a less crowded part of the beach, where they could spend some time together without getting such an attention from others. However, as he was about to ask Bell what flavor she wished to have, Keiichi noticed the thoughtful expression on her face, and given the little girl's otherwise innocent question, he had a very good idea what was going on inside Belldandy's head right now. "Um… Belldandy?"

It took Keiichi another attempt to grab her attention, at which point, the Norn shook her head to snap out of it. "Oh, I'm sorry! I got distracted for a moment!" offered Belldandy with an apologetic smile, before she noticed the way the rest of the people in line were looking at them. "Oh, right! I'd like chocolate flavor, please!"

"Same for me, too," added Keiichi with a slight nod. Perhaps he did so a bit too soon, almost as if he automatically agreed with whatever Belldandy chose for herself.

"Two extra big scoops of chocolate for the happy couple, coming up!" laughed the vendor, who seemed to pick up what was going on, much to Keiichi's chagrin.

"Thank you," replied Belldandy. Yet before she even picked up the ice-cream cone, she paid for both of them, along with a fair tip that certainly made the vendor's day. "Come on, Keiichi. Let's find a shade, or these are going to melt in no time at all."

The cheerfulness in Belldandy's voice deterred him from arguing about the fact that he didn't think it was appropriate for her to pay for the ice-cream on her own, but in the end he reasoned that either way it didn't really matter. Money wasn't really an issue for her, and neither was the case for him right now; no matter how ironic that sounded. 'Okay, let's not go there. I'm supposed to help her relax, not bring up her situation, and ruin the mood.' Determined not to make a fool of himself, Keiichi looked around for a nice spot for them to enjoy their ice-cream, as well as have some small talk, before they go for a swim in the ocean.

"Say, Keiichi?" asked Belldandy after a couple of seconds, just as she and her boyfriend sat under a palm tree next to a beach bar. "How's life with my mother, and Skuld? Are they still giving you trouble?"

"No, not really," said Keiichi, only to hesitate for a moment, when he noticed Belldandy's doubtful expression. "Okay… maybe they're a bit overbearing at times, but it's nothing really bad. I suppose they're far from what most people would consider as a normal family. Then again, I don't know if the same stereotypes apply to immortals. Although, from what I've seen so far… I doubt it."

Her boyfriend's impression of her celestials caused Belldandy to giggle, since she found it adorable that he tried this hard to avoid insulting her. After all, she had no doubt that most humans would've been shocked to see how immature immortals could get at times. "Keiichi, you don't need to be so cautious. Just speak up your mind when you're around me. I'm fully aware that my folks can get pretty rowdy at times. Then again, that's kind of necessary when you're several millennia old. Remember how some older folks here become tired over time, and lose their enthusiasm? It would've been terrible for us to experience the same thing. After a while, all our motivation would be gone, leaving us only able to exist without the ability to dream."

"Hm… come to think of it, that kind of makes sense," said Keiichi in retrospect. "Young people here are full of dreams and wishes for their future, but as we grow old, we sort of lose that motivation. Sometimes it's due to things that had gotten wrong, or just didn't exactly the way we hoped, and other times, it's just the fatigue from our lifestyle. I mean, when I think that, Skuld's a bit over 900 years old, and she's still acting like a young teen… it's really hard to believe it." Admittedly, Keiichi was happy that the young Norn wasn't here to blast him sky high for that idle comment, even if he meant no disrespect. At least, Belldandy found it humorous enough to actually smile at the sound of it, and that was more than reassuring enough to him.

"My sisters can be quite a headache, but they're also the best sisters one could possibly ask for. And to be honest, I'm quite proud of how well Skuld is taking this. She used to be very protective of me, so, it makes me happy that she's got no problems of me being in a relationship," said Belldandy with a genuine smile, even if it started to fade after she finished her sentence. "Well… as much of a relationship as we're allowed to have, anyway. Sometimes, I wonder…"

"Yes?"

"No, never mind. I don't think we should be discussing that right now," said Belldandy, and then shook her head for extra emphasis. And to lighten up the mood, she pointed at Keiichi's ice-cream. "Also, it's melting."

" _Ah!_ " Without another word, Keiichi rushed to lick the dripping ice-cream, while Belldandy was about to finish hers. As she did though, Keiichi noticed that she glanced towards the ocean, and in this mind this only meant one thing: it was about time he found out whether Skuld's admittedly tortuous method of teaching him how to swim worked or not. After all, being dragged by what was effectively a jet-ski isn't nearly as fun as some people think it is. Granted, the young inventor probably intended that paddle board to be nothing more than a mere swimming aid, but like always… she overdid it, and then some. "Say… Belldandy? Would you like to go for a swim?"

The question initially surprised Belldandy, given that she knew Keiichi's lack of swimming skills. Even after she taught him how to float in the pool, this was a totally different environment. And while she would've loved nothing more that swim together with him, the Norn had to take Keiichi's comfort as a priority. "Actually, I'd love to. But only if you feel alright with it. Swimming in the ocean is very different from an indoors pool, so, it's going to be more of a challenge for you."

"Nah, you worry too much, Bell. Since I'm now staying next to a lake, I practiced a bit. So, I'm not totally unprepared to give it a go. Besides, more than half the people here barely know how to swim, and yet they're enjoying themselves." Even if he had some reservations about the quality of his training, Keiichi felt safe enough in Belldandy's presence to actually give it a try.

Rather than an immediate answer, Belldandy reached out to grab her boyfriend's hand and pulled him along. "Come on, Keiichi! Last to get in the water is a shrimp!"

"What? Hey, that's not fair! You're already ahead of me!" laughed Keiichi as he tried to catch up to her, and then pretended to trip, just so that they both ended up in the water at the same time. "I guess it's a draw."

"Is that so?" asked Belldandy as she got up, given that the water barely reached her knees, and splashed Keiichi, not unlike a little kid. "Ha! I got you!"

"Oh, really?" countered Keiichi, before they both ended up happily splashing water at each other. "I can play this game, too!"

No matter how childish that looked to everyone around them, it was definitely refreshing for the couple to share such a carefree moment without any other care in the world. Sure, their troubles were far from over, but at the very least they could spend most of the day together; at least until Belldandy had to get ready for that concert. However, the day was still young, and the two lovebirds intended to make the most out of it.

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone here and the Goddess Relief site for offering their continuing support.

Many apologies for the longer delay between this and the previous chapter. Due to poor planning, I didn't properly announce my vacations here, so, by the time you're reading this, I'm already back home and finishing this chapter. I suppose I could've released it before I left, but that would've felt rushed and I really don't want the story to suffer for such reasons.

With that being said, I had fun writing this chapter. To be fair, this isn't the end of Keiichi's date with Belldandy, since I only got to write a bit of that. So, you can expect the rest of it on the next chapter, as well as a few more things.

Once again, I thank you for your patience, and I hope you'll find this chapter to your liking.


	17. Chapter 17

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

What was once a life of luxury, pleasure, and the finest creatures of comfort a man could get, slowly turned into a living nightmare for Aoshima. If only he had listened his cousin's advice back when she warned him to refrain from pushing his luck too far, none of this would happen; but the time for regrets was now long gone. It was all too easy for him to take the demons' favor for granted, allowing him to develop the mistaken assumption of invulnerability, as well as the feeling that he could pretty much get away with everything. And like an idiot, he pushed his luck so hard, that he paid the ultimate price for it.

Then again, in his moment of misfortune, a demon ran to Aoshima's rescue. Due to unfavorable circumstances, as well as stupidity perhaps greater than his own, Sokkmimir found him to be the ideal host to house his now disembodied self. Something that not only brought him back to life, but imbued Aoshima with powers he could only dream of, yet would've preferred if they didn't come along the rest of his problems.

"You're awake."

The voice was deep and harsh, almost like an inhuman rasp; which in fact was exactly the case here. Aoshima wasn't exactly sure where it come from, given that his eyes were covered by the blind his captors put on him when they ambushed him in the alley he retreated to, after the failed attempt to escape those boys. However, these were far from juveniles with an attitude, but proper soldiers of Niflheim. At least, as long as what he saw during the brief moment was correct, and this wasn't yet another fiasco.

"I know you can hear me. My patience is great, human… but not inexhaustible. Speak when spoken to, and this will end well for you. Anger me, and you'll join the dead once again. And this time, no one will rescue your sorry hide."

"Who are you?" managed Aoshima in a much less composed voice than he would've preferred, given that just the way these demons were dealing him was much more unnerving than anything he had so far experienced from their kind. After all, he had been taken into custody before, but not after they beat him, and somehow disabled Sokkmimir by almost literally carving a magic circle onto his chest, around the area where the disembodied demon bonded with him. As a matter of fact, it was the pain from this procedure caused him to fall unconscious, at which point they bound and blindfolded him, before taking him to… wherever this place is.

"Someone with a job for you. That's all you need to know."

Although he had more than enough reasons to turn down such a proposition, Aoshima felt he didn't really have a saying on this. Not only that, but unlike the demons he's been working for in the past, this violent bunch didn't seem interested to keep up the pretenses, or even try to entice him with a reward. At least in the past, his benefactors provided him with all the resources he needed to live a luxurious life, without spending a single day worth of work to earn all that. Actually, unlike the foolish Sayoko who tried to run that record company of hers, Aoshima only agreed to play the role of the VP as an excuse to justify his more than moderate income. And as if that wasn't enough, he left all the paperwork to his secretary, just so that he was effectively free of any obligation. Unfortunately for him, those days are now long gone. "What…" rasped Aoshima in a failed attempt to speak up, given how nervous he was at the moment. "What kind of job are we talking about?"

"One that you'll enjoy. I won't bore you with the specifics, but we want Hild-sama's bastard out of the picture. As much as we don't have anything against the previous Daimakaicho, and even respect her strength… accepting a half-breed as our second-in-command is nothing we're interested in. And to make matters worse, her closest associate is a former Valkyrie. I believe you remember her."

"Yes… I do, actually," replied Aoshima, even though that wasn't a particularly pleasant memory. After all, that was the main reason he got in this kind of situation, since that blue haired Valkyrie was the one who killed him. And though he was soon brought back to life -in a sense- by Sokkmimir who was in a need for a body, thanks to his own punishment that left him disembodied, Aoshima never forgave those responsive for his current predicament. Still, he knew that trying to extract revenge was a one way ticket to an early -and this time permanent- grave. Still, from the way this demon spoke, it was more than obvious that he didn't quite like Urd, or Lind for the matter. This presented him an opportunity to even up the score, and with Sokkmimir finally quiet, thanks to whatever seal they put over him, Aoshima was essentially free to use the disembodied demon's powers without worrying about his ' _benefactor's_ ' consent. Besides, now that Welsper's out of the picture, all that stands between him and certain doom is a disembodied demon who's merely a shadow of his former self. So, if these demons could at the very least keep him alive for the time being, then Aoshima had little reason to turn their offer down. "What do you want me to do?"

XXX

 _Hawaii_

Thankfully for Keiichi, the brief swimming lessons he got from Skuld did pay off, even though he still considered them as far from ideal. At the very least he was able to stay afloat, and with Belldandy holding back to allow a beginner like him to catch up, Keiichi had to admit that enjoyed swimming for the very first time in his life. After all, it is a far more pleasant experience once the initial fear of sinking gets out of the picture, and the fact that he had Belldandy by his side was definitely a big bonus.

The only strange thing in Keiichi's opinion was just how different Belldandy looked at the moment, all thanks to her current disguise. While his girlfriend had also modified her appearance during their last date, the fact that some of the bystanders still managed to realize who she was, prompted her to take some extra precautions to make her virtually unrecognizable. This did make things slightly awkward at certain times, given how it felt that he was dating a totally different person, but in the end, Belldandy remained the same woman he fell in love with; even if she currently resembled her older sister.

"Keiichi?"

Noticing the way his girlfriend was intently staring at him, caused Keiichi to realize that he must've been spacing out. So, with a shake of his head, the mortal cleared his thoughts and turned his attention back to her. "Ah, sorry! I was lost in thought for a moment. You were saying?"

"Don't worry about it, Keiichi. I was just wondering if you've got something you'd like to do on our date," said Belldandy as she swam closer to him. "I know you wish to please me, but, there's nothing wrong with doing something you might want to try."

Although he felt that the museum visit during their previous date was probably done for his sake, Keiichi didn't think that Belldandy just forgot about it. Most likely, his girlfriend wished to offer him an opportunity to have some fun during this date as well, and while he enjoyed swimming with her, Keiichi wondered if there was anything else for them to do. "Huh… You know, I'm not sure what we should try next. I mean, we're at the ocean, so, it kinda makes sense to stay near the beach for longer."

"I suppose you're right," said Belldandy with a thoughtful expression, before she looked around for another source of entertainment for them. "Oh, there's that paddle boat we can rent. And we can sit next to each other while we ride it, too!"

"You know what? I think it's going to be pretty fun! I never tried riding one of those things before!" said the smiling Keiichi, as this could at the very least allow him to stay even closer to Bell than he did during their swimming session. After all, if there was one thing Keiichi never appreciated from back when he was single, was the occasional show-off who tried to make sure that everyone on the beach knew that he had a date. Sure, neither he nor Bell seemed interested to pull off something like that, and even then, it would've ruined the whole date, especially if someone managed to recognize Bell again. "However, this time, I'm paying for it!"

"Well, if it really makes you feel better, then go right ahead, Keiichi. I still don't think you need to worry about money, though." Despite her friendly reminder, Belldandy knew that it wasn't Keiichi's style to take advantage of her -admittedly undesirable- wealth. That was part of his charm though, since no matter the circumstances, Keiichi remained true to his values, instead of making the best of _every_ kind of situation. As a matter of fact, she even remembered an instance from a couple of years back, when she was still watching his daily life from her computer terminal, where Keiichi found a wallet on the street and pulled over to pick it up. While most people in his place would've been tempted to take some cash from inside, or even keep the whole thing, Keiichi merely took it to the nearest police station. And that was far from an isolated event, and more like the norm as far as Keiichi was concerned.

Taking advantage of the time it was taking for her boyfriend to rent a paddle boat, Belldandy looked around them, just to make sure that they weren't followed. It was probably unnecessary, given how unrecognizable she was right now, but there was no harm at being a bit more cautious. And in all seriousness, she doubted that the demons would interfere with something as trivial as her date, although the same wasn't necessarily true about Peorth, or even her mother, and Skuld. Out of all of them, Peorth was the most likely to try to push things forward for her and Keiichi, while the others were a big question mark in this regard. Especially in the case of her mother, who also happened to be the Interspecies Romance Inquisitor. And while Belldandy's relationship was currently outside of her mother's jurisdiction, it was only a matter of time for that to turn into a problem once this whole mess was resolved; perhaps only to lead into a very personal mess.

"Hey, Bell! We can go now, if you want," came Keiichi's voice, after his failed attempt to grab her attention.

"Huh? Oh, sorry! I was just making sure that we weren't followed," said Belldandy, before she shook her head to dispel the notion. "It looks like I'm just a bit too nervous, though. So, you were saying?"

"Ah, yes! I rented this boat for half an hour, since I don't think we should spend too much time on just a single thing," said Keiichi while he pointed at the pedal boat in question. "Although… you did sound kind of worried. You think we've been followed?"

"No, not really. At least, not by anyone we should worry about," said the Norn as she boarded their rather unimpressive looking vessel. Painted in a gaudy yellow and blue paint job… it wasn't exactly the definition of elegance, and for that matter neither did it seem to be in mint condition either. Actually, she was almost certain that the vivid colors were meant to cover some of the 'badges of honor' it carried, which were fine by her, unless they ended up in a situation where this suddenly turned into Titanic; albeit without the need of an iceberg. "On the other hand… I am worried about this boat. Keiichi, are you sure it's seaworthy?"

"That's what the old coot told me," replied Keiichi as he casted a side glance at the guy he rented the boat from. "I know it's not really fancy, but it was the only one available right now. Every other boat was already rented, and I guess it's obvious why this was still free."

Offering a nod, Belldandy boarded the boat, but then realized that even unintentionally she kind of looked down a weathered, old boat. This was something irrelevant to most, yet not to her. She used to appreciate every object's contribution to those around it, and even frowned upon those who simply discarded old items because their usefulness had come to an end. Granted, Belldandy understood that at some point, even inanimate objects had a life cycle. So, no matter how much one wished to avoid it, they will eventually part with even their most treasured possessions. Still, there were some people who simply put no effort at maintaining their belongings and simply discarded them as it was of no consequence for them, and that was perhaps the worst thing in her eyes. To make sure that she hadn't misjudged this vessel, Belldandy run her hands on its surface as she took a seat, and momentarily closed her eyes. "I believe, I was a bit harsh, Keiichi. This is actually a faithful companion."

"Eh? What do you mean by that?" asked the confused Keiichi while he steered the boat as they started their joyride.

"It's something pretty basic for all goddesses. Although, not everyone is nearly as attuned to it as the rest. Basically, I can feel emotions not only from people around me, but from objects as well. And while this sounds impossible, over time emotions can be projected and stored on pretty much anything that means a lot to its owner, as well as others around it. So, I can find out whether someone takes care of their possessions, or merely casts them aside without the slightest effort to maintain them," explained Belldandy, even if somewhat awkwardly. It was actually quite odd to her that she momentarily forgot -or rather ignored- such an important thing, and secretly wonder if this was merely one of the differences between her current and previous self.

"I think I know what you mean. Still, don't worry too much about it. From what I can tell, this probably has something to do with the fact that you're currently a demoness. But that's only temporary," said Keiichi reassuringly. He even tried to make it sound as if it wasn't such a big deal, since he wanted to prevent Belldandy from worrying far too much about her current state of mind. Of course, he was aware that this wasn't a joking matter, but from his perspective, this could easily escalate into a full-blown case of paranoia, with Belldandy second guessing her every thought. Clearly that's unhealthy even for an immortal, so, the best thing for her right now is to help her relax, and reassure her that everything's going to be fine.

"I guess you're right," said Belldandy with a sigh, and then tried to listen to her boyfriend's advice by pushing such thoughts aside. Instead, she tried to come up with a totally different subject, and immediately realized something pretty obvious. "Oh, I nearly forgot! Are you planning to attend tonight's concert?"

"Actually… I kinda did, but by the time I checked for tickets, they were all sold out."

At first, Belldandy seemed disappointed to hear this, since in all honesty she would've enjoyed singing for Keiichi. Sure, the cheesy love songs that were popular here in the mortal realm weren't exactly her cup of tea, but on the other hand… they were oddly appropriate now that she was in a relationship herself. And not to mention that the whole setting would allow her to sing without feeling embarrassed about it, since in Keiichi's mind she was only doing her job, and nothing beyond that. "Why didn't you ask, then? I can definitely get a ticket for you! We always save a few, just in case we wish to invite some VIP, and we can't do that by telling them to wait behind a line to buy them on their own. Most of the time it's for the press, as well as celebrities, but I can definitely get one for you as well. Actually… you know what? I'll get two more, for Skuld, and mother, too."

The idea of attending a concert with Skuld and Ansuz by his side, both amused and worried Keiichi, since there was no telling what they might come up with. Still, he doubted that it would've been a good move to decline Belldandy's offer, so, he wholeheartedly accepted. "That sounds awesome! I'd love to hear you and Peorth sing live on stage!"

"Oh? Me _and_ Peorth?" asked Belldandy so conspicuously… that it was practically impossible for Keiichi to miss. And as if that wasn't enough, the subtle way she narrowed her eyes, or leaned against her increasingly nervous boyfriend, left no room for mistakes on Keiichi's part. "Do I sense that someone's a bit _too_ appreciative of _Peorth's_ stage performance? Surely with her shorter than necessary skirt, and flashy panties… I can imagine why the boys love her. Well, some of the ladies, too."

"Whoa _, whoa!_ That's _not_ what I meant, at all!" protested the flustered Keiichi, shaking his hands in front of him for extra emphasis.

"No, it's alright... I'm not too broken by the fact that Peorth's bum is attracting so much attention," said Belldandy as she averted her gaze, and even let out an angry huff while crossing her arms. "She was even voted as the hottest celebrity of the year! _No wonder why…_ "

For the next couple of seconds, Keiichi could only stare in sheer disbelief, since this was side of Belldandy that he was totally unaware of; or even suspected that existed in the first place. However, when he noticed her shaking shoulders, and that slight smile that she tried so hard to hide, it became apparent that she was merely pulling his leg. And if this was how she wanted to play, Keiichi had no issues returning the favor in his own way. "What can I say… everyone has their favorites, right? Although, if I had to pick my favorite, that you be yours, Belldandy." Unaware of his little error, since was already somewhat embarrassed to actually admit that he liked Belldandy, he failed to notice her perplexed expression.

"Uh… _yours?_ Surely you mean… _you_ , right? As in _me_ , rather than _mine_." Unsure what her boyfriend was referring to, the Norn backtracked a bit and wondered if this had anything to do with her little mention of her roommate's assets. Looking uncertainty between Keiichi and what she thought he had in mind, only to get a blank stare from him, Belldandy decided to take the extra step to clarify by pointing at her backside. "Unless you refer to… Um… _this?_ "

If Keiichi was staring before, now he was openly _gawking_ at Belldandy. Initially he was pretty confused too, but as he realized his slip of the tongue that led to this misunderstanding, Keiichi was at a loss of what to say. As a matter of fact, he wanted to correct himself before this situation deteriorated any further, yet… by doing so he could actually give her the impression that he's trying to avoid a direct comparison between her and Peorth. And in most such cases, it was primarily because the other person was better than the one standing before them. "Actually, I think you're the best no matter how you look at it."

The comment brought a blush on Belldandy's face, since she honestly wasn't expecting such a tactful response. Not that she believed that her boyfriend was incapable of acting so gentlemanly, but considering Keiichi's inexperience at dealing with women, it was quite a nice to see that he was starting to lose his initial awkwardness. "Oh… um... right. Sorry for that, I guess I kind of misunderstood what you said before. Still, thank you for the compliment, Keiichi," said the Norn with some effort, given that for once their roles were reversed, and now she was the one who didn't quite know how to handle this kind of situation.

"Hey, there's no need to thank me, Bell!" replied Keiichi with a bright smile. "It's only natural to compliment you, although it's not like I'm exaggerating. You're really attractive without even putting any effort at all. I suppose that's what they mean by natural beauty."

If Belldandy's cheeks weren't already pink from the previous compliment, this new one certainly did the trick, forcing the Norn to briefly look away in embarrassment. She even felt compelled to give him a kiss as a sweet reward for his kind words, but she had to contain herself. Given that her current appearance was highly modified to resemble Urd, the middle Norn wished to avoid such gestures of affection, at least until she could turn back into her good old self. Still, a little peck on the cheek was fair game, and thus Belldandy leaned in to offer her version of a wordless ' _thank you._ '

While Keiichi nervously scratched his chin and tried to come up with anything that wouldn't sound too cheesy, a celestial duo watched the unfolding scene from a fair distance, all thanks to pair of modified binoculars that the youngest built in a hurry. As a matter of fact, the two goddesses were so adamant not to miss the action, that ended squeezing their faces together, trying to see through one eyepiece each.

"Hey, what gives, mom? I'm the one who made Mr. Spying Glasses, so, I should be the one to use it first," said Skuld, while struggling to get a better look at the unfolding action across the beach.

"No way! You said that ten minutes ago, and you're still hogging it! Besides, it's safer for an adult like myself to monitor them. What would happen if things get a bit… spicier?" Try as she might, Ansuz was trying for an excuse to get hold of her daughter's binoculars that in all fairness rivalled some military grade sets they had in Asgard. They even came with directional audio stereo microphones that captured the entire conversation between Belldandy and Keiichi, even from this distance. However, with Skuld refusing to buy her excuse, Ansuz had to resort to foul play, and promptly reached around her daughter's back to tap her shoulder. And the moment the young Norn turned away from her mother to see who was attempting to grab her attention, Ansuz took the opportunity to shamelessly snatch the binoculars, much to Skuld's chagrin.

" _Hey! That's cheating!_ " declared the Norn, while pointing an accusatory finger at her mother.

"You snooze, you lose!" cheerfully replied the currently brunette goddess, now that she could get an unobstructed view of her eldest daughter, even if the youngest seemed ready to throw a bomb at her. "Uh ah! Not in a public place, Skuld!"

" _Grr!_ I hate it where you're right," said Skuld as she cast a sideways glance at her mother, but then again there was nothing she could do. The latest fiasco in Nekomi made it clear that such an incident should be avoided at all cost, and besides, throwing a temper tantrum was too childish for her liking. Even if she was technically a child, Skuld was trying to mentally grow up, and hopefully make those around her recognize that newfound maturity. Which was exactly what prompted her to take a seat next to her mother and try to relax, waiting for the elder goddess to tell her what's going on. "Well? Do we have any developments?"

"Actually, we kinda do. Belldandy invited Keiichi to her concert, and the same goes for us too," said Ansuz, and then actually handed the binoculars to her daughter, catching her off guard by this gesture. Then again, as fun as it was for her to playfully argue with Skuld, that was actually Urd's role as the eldest sister. By contrast, Ansuz is her mother, and thus, no matter how fun some things may be, she had a different role in Skuld's life; one that she currently tried to define. "You know, it's going to be fun for us to attend a concert together. Oh, and there's nothing wrong with being an adult, so, feel free to use your watch to change into one for the occasion."

Despite the fact that this whole thing was orchestrated by demons, rather than her big sister's choice, Skuld really wanted to listen to Belldandy's new songs. The closest she managed to do is listen to the broadcast versions over the radio, or even online, but at no point of time did she actually watch one of her live performances. And in all fairness, the idea of attending a concert with her mother, and Keiichi was so strange that she really wanted to give it a go. "Hey, I like the sound of that! Although, you better not dress up like an old lady, or everyone's going to laugh at us!"

"Who's an old lady?" countered Ansuz with a grimace, earning a giggle from her daughter. However, before their conversation carried on for any longer, Ansuz noticed Keiichi heading their way, although thankfully there was no sign of trouble in his expression. Still, it was a bit strange that he chose to return this early, and by the looks of it, Belldandy was heading her way too.

Reading her mother's troubled expression, Skuld hid her spying binoculars, before Keiichi saw them, and turned her attention back to Ansuz. "Perhaps he wants to tell us about the concert? After all, that's what he and Belldandy were talking about."

"Hm… good point," agreed Ansuz with a nod, before both she and Skuld tried to act as if they hadn't been spying on them during the last couple of minutes. And though most would've seen through this act, given how obvious they were, Keiichi didn't seem to either notice, or at least make a comment about it. Instead, he stopped in front of her and Skuld, and offered them a triumphant smile.

"I hope you girls want to attend a concert, because I've got us three tickets."

The two goddesses shared a knowing glance, and then turned to the smiling mortal. "Sure thing, Keiichi! That sounds like a fun idea!" said Skuld, with Ansuz adding. "How long do we have to prepare?"

"Oh, we've got plenty of time. The concert is scheduled for late afternoon, but Belldandy needed to head there now, so, that she and Peorth can rehearse tonight's show." Despite the cheerfulness in his voice, it was hard for Keiichi to hide his disappointment for cutting their date early, but for the most part he could understand. Besides, Belldandy promised to catch up to him after the concert, and hopefully resume from where they left. Something that sounded pretty unlikely by any means, although Keiichi wished to think that his girlfriend had no reason to mislead him. "Well, at least that gives us some time to get ready, too," he added after a long pause, only to notice the mischievous grins he was getting from the two goddesses. "Uh… why are you looking at me like that?"

Rather than an elaborate reply, Ansuz's smile grew wider, as she and Skuld offered the nervous Keiichi a playful wink. "Don't worry. You'll see soon enough, Keiichi."

'That's what worries me.'

XXX

"For once, you seem pretty happy," commented Peorth, after observing Belldandy's performance for the last couple of minutes. As a matter of fact, the middle Norn was radiating happiness, which was a welcome change from her normal attitude whenever her job was involved. Actually, to a certain degree one could see the old Belldandy resurface, and that was a most welcome change for Peorth. "Did anything good happen at the beach?"

Belldandy didn't even need to look at her roommate to know that she's been giving her that knowing smile. And as much as she didn't like the implications behind it, the Norn couldn't help but feel a bit mischievous, rather than straightforward as she normally was. "Oh, a lot of good things happened."

" _Details, girl!_ " demanded Peorth, who suddenly found that comment too irresistible to let it pass like that.

Finding Peorth right in her face all of a sudden, caused Belldandy some second thoughts about teasing her like that. However, it was a bit too late for taking her words back, yet with the truth being a little too boring, she decided to embellish it a bit. "What can I say?... Keiichi's got a lot more stamina one might give him credit for."

Unfortunately for the Norn, the vagueness of that statement only made matters worse for her, as Peorth's eyes light up when her imagination started to fill in the gaps. " _Oh la la!_ I never thought you're the bold type! Heck, even _I_ haven't done it on a beach!"

"Done exactly… _what?_ " asked Belldandy, after she realized that her roommate's imagination started to run wild. Still, she didn't wish to let her come up with too much stuff that are too explicit for her to even consider, let alone allow Peorth to pester her about those details, and thus decided to put an early end to this. "Please, don't tell me you thought I picked a public beach for such a purpose; and in the middle of the day, too! _And_ after admitting that even _you_ wouldn't do that!"

"Hm… well…" It didn't take long for Peorth to figure out that her initial impression was so off, that even admitting it was out of question for her. Instead, she rushed to the pile of discarded clothes she's been checking earlier, and much to Belldandy's confusion, Peorth fished for a particular piece she personally turned down moments ago. "Here it is! I'm pretty sure this will look perfect on you!"

'She's playing dumb,' realized the middle Norn, but for everyone's best interests she chose to drop the subject. Instead, she spent some time inspecting the outfit Peorth was holding in front of her, and the blue mini dress didn't seem too minimalistic; at least based on Peorth's standards. "I do like the color, and the fabric seems light and comfortable to wear during the show. I'm not too keen on the length, though. It barely covers my tushy, and maybe a bit of my upper thighs… but not much more than that."

'Why am I not surprised…' It took some effort for Peorth to avoid rolling her eyes, since she totally expected that response. Unlike past incidents, she did have a single word that could potentially change her mind. "Keiichi."

As brief of a response as that was, it didn't take Belldandy more than that to catch the hint, and with a second look at the dress, the Norn graciously accepted it. "On second thought… I believe it's going to look just fine on me!"

"Actually, why don't you give it a try right now? It'll be better if you learn how to move around in it while we're alone, instead of worrying about your panties showing when we get on stage," said Peorth with an encouraging smile, before she suddenly stopped and started rummaging through the pile of assorted clothes once more. This time however, Peorth pulled something that could barely described as a functional lingerie, since the coverage of this pair of panties was… too minimal to serve any practical purposes. "Wait, I know what you're thinking! Hear me out first, and then you can disagree with me," immediately said the brunette demoness, as she retrieved a more conventional pair of panties and handed both to the frowning Belldandy. "Sometimes it's a matter of semantics. And in this case, I feel that once you consider that itsy bitsy thing as your actual lingerie, then the other pair is something akin to the shortest shorts you can get. You know, like those gym shorts we use for our dance lessons?"

If there was such a thing as an ' _I'm not buying it_ ' expression, then Belldandy's facial features radiated that very sentiment; much to Peorth's concern. After all, the middle Norn was known for how cryptic her body language got whenever she experienced any negative emotions, and with her being a demoness at the moment, her mood swings were more than enough to warrant caution. " _Right…_ I suppose that's one way to see it," said Belldandy, with more than enough skepticism still present in her voice. "Let me get it straight though: _I_ don't see it like that."

"Of course! Please, ignore my silly suggestion!" said Peorth in a hurry, to spare herself from a sermon that she almost saw coming. She even waved her hands in front of her for extra effect, just to make sure that she got her point across, but for once, Belldandy didn't seem to press on. Instead, the middle Norn went back to checking her new dress, and apparently she also tried a few types of undergarments that worked better for her. And though it wasn't prudent to tempt fate and see what her roommate was up to, Peorth found it impossible to resist the urge to do so. "Um… excuse me, Bell, but… What are you checking?"

"Oh, I'm trying to see if this leotard looks nice under the dress," happily replied the Norn, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Unsurprisingly, this somewhat confused Peorth, as it clashed with Belldandy's previous statement. "I'm kinda lost here. Weren't you adamant… _not_ to show anything during the performance?"

"I'm not really showing anything. A leotard is a valid article of clothing that's even used in sport events, as well as other occasions without being confused as lingerie."

If there was any reason for Peorth to object, the smile on Belldandy's face was more than enough to deter her from correcting the Norn. The bottom line was to help her put on a great show, since either way that was going to happen, and they might as well make the best out of it. 'Well, if that's what she wants to think, then I'm all for it. Still, better make sure she won't make a fool of herself. That's the least I can do.'

XXX

The stadium was so packed with people, that by the time Keiichi and the two goddesses arrived, it was extremely hard to find a place with a clear view at the stage. Sure, there was a giant screen behind the stage, that should make it possible for those further away to see Belldandy and Peorth during their performance, but that's not what any of the trio wanted. And as if that wasn't enough, the demon guards seemed rather nervous with Ansuz's presence, which necessitated her and the rest to keep a certain distance, as to avoid any unnecessary confrontation.

"Well, I guess this is the closest we can get," said Keiichi, even if it took him two attempts to make himself heard. Even though the concert hadn't start yet, the massive speakers were already playing a selection of the Rose Witches' old songs. And as much as he enjoyed listening to Belldandy's voice, the same couldn't be said under the current circumstances; all thanks to the deafening volume of that music.

"Oh well, we should be able to see them from here. Although… what's up with this noise?" shouted Ansuz from her spot right next to Keiichi. For once, she didn't bother hide her teal hair, since some girls attending the concert had all sorts of crazy hair colors, so hers wasn't too out of the ordinary. And the casual pair of denim pants she was wearing, along with the plain, black sleeveless top, allowed her to blend into the crowd; just like it did for her daughter, who also picked the same style of clothes. Still, the same couldn't be said about her sense of familiarity with what was going on around her. It was clear that while she did attend more than enough concerts in her immortal life… most of those had nothing to do with what was happening here. "No, seriously! This is like a bunch of norsemen stuck in a Knarr, back from the days of the Viking expansion!"

"Stuck in a… _what?_ " asked Skuld in a moment of poor judgment, given the glare she got from her mother.

"It's a type of merchant ship, used for long voyages. Although, you should've been able to recognize the term, Skuld." If the tone of her voice wasn't enough of a hint for the younger goddess to invest more time in her studies of human culture, then the intensity of her stare promised a decade worth of history lessons.

" _Oh, that's right! Silly me, I forgot!_ " hastily said the worried Norn, just to spare herself several years worth of pain, that studying in the archives really was. And to make sure that her mother dropped the subject, Skuld looked around for a convenient diversion; one that came in the form of Keiichi's attire. "Are you sure okay with that getup, Keiichi?"

"Huh? Why? What's wrong?" asked the confused mortal as he checked himself, and quite honestly, couldn't find anything out of the ordinary with his clothes. "I've been wearing these clothes for ages, and no one said anything bad about them."

"No, that's exactly the problem," insisted the Norn, as she pointed at herself. "Unlike us, who are trying to keep a low profile… you are supposed to look good. Or have you forgotten that you're supposed to meet up with Be-... I mean, my big sister." Even with all the surrounding noise, as well as the loud music playing in the background, Skuld caught herself before she mentioned Belldandy by name. After all, there was little doubt that the demons were painfully aware of their presence, and while they maintained their distance, things could easily change. Especially if they happen to assume that they came here to free Belldandy and Peorth.

"Well, you do have a point. Although, it's not like I had something better to wear. And no, that _thing_ you tried to make me wear… isn't something anyone would wear for a pop concert," said Keiichi with a grimace, even though he tried to hide it. He didn't wish to give off the impression of an ungrateful person, especially when the others went out of their way to help him. But if all fairness, dressing up like an 80s yuppie… was definitely not his cup of tea.

" _Excuse me for not being a stylist!_ But it's not like you know more about fashion, either," snapped the irate Skuld, even if she could actually see the mortal's point. After all, her main source of info about dates… came from the shojo manga she loves to read, and not everything included in there were 100% accurate to real life situation. As such, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Keiichi didn't find the admittedly cheesy outfit she picked from a manga to be appropriate for a date; and besides, it wasn't like Belldandy would see things her way, having little to no knowledge of manga.

"Now, now Skuld. I believe that's enough," said Ansuz, just to make sure that this didn't escalate to a full argument. "Besides, the concert's about to start."

Even if the elder goddess didn't say anything, the loud cheer that followed Belldandy and Peorth's entrance was more than enough to grab the others' attention. Keiichi in particular found himself staring at the middle Norn's alluring blue dress that glistered under the spotlights, thanks to the strategically placed glitter that highlighted her every move. Even Skuld and Ansuz found themselves staring at Belldandy's figure, although in the former's case, it was also due to how much skin that dress left in plain view.

" _Whoa! What the Hell?!_ Bell's going for panty shots? Are they so desperate to sell out for fanservice that they got her to stoop this low?" asked the scandalized Skuld, before she looked at her mother for support.

"Hm… I don't think that's the case, Skuld. That looks to me like a dancer's outfit," said Ansuz in a far calmer manner than her daughter. And a second glance at Belldandy's outfit only confirmed her suspicion. "Yes, that's indeed a dress over a dancer's leotard. So, no need to worry there."

" _No need to worry?_ " repeated the outraged goddess of the future, as everyone else around her cheered at the Rose Witches' intro. "I don't care what you call it, but all those pervs are definitely ogling Bell's rear!"

"Skuld… you shouldn't underestimate Belldandy's determination. If she didn't like that outfit, then she wouldn't be standing on the stage right now. Besides, I think that the most likely reason she's going this, is to impress a _certain someone_." Is the slight change of her voice wasn't enough of a hint as to who she was referring to, Ansuz pointedly stared at the utterly mesmerized Keiichi.

Following her mother's glance, Skuld noticed the obviously lovestruck expression on Keiichi's face, and let out a groan. "Like I said… posing for the pervs."

"Now, don't be mean, Skuld!" chided Ansuz, while she tapped her daughter's nose; much to the latter's great annoyance. "I don't blame poor Keiichi for being a little lovey dovey in a situation like this. Dating a famous pop star, _is_ something overwhelming for a modest boy like him."

'Which part of him is modest? I swear, he's having icky thoughts about Bell right now.' To her credit, Skuld kept that to herself, much unlike what she would've done in the past. Back then, Skuld's most likely response would be to throw a bomb at the impudent fool who dare give her big sister _that_ kind of look. However, if she ever wanted to become a supportive little sister, then such impulsive reactions were simply out of question, and a more mature approach was needed.

Meanwhile, Keiichi's attention was so fixed on the singing duo on the stage, that he almost missed the entire conversation between Ansuz and Skuld. After all, it was hard not to feel drawn by sound of Belldandy's beautiful voice, although… a part of him didn't mind her presence on the scene at all. Somehow, the upbeat rhythm of the song made Belldandy so cheerful that, Keiichi couldn't help but smile at the sight. 'I don't know if it's just my idea, but she looks so different from back when I first met her. She was so distant and… sad, I guess.'

By the time the second song was on, even Ansuz and Skuld were nodding their heads to the rhythm, which was a pretty funny sight in Keiichi's opinion; especially how the older of them was by far the most enthusiastic. This actually made him wonder how different family relations were in the immortal world, at least compared to all the stereotypes he was familiar with, here on Earth. Sure, his own parents were kinda strange oddballs themselves, but that didn't make him assume that everyone else was the same. And in Ansuz's case, it was extremely crucial for him to figure out her mannerisms, if he was ever to become her son-in-law.

So, now that the third song was featuring some solos for Peorth, Keiichi took the opportunity to observe Ansuz while she wasn't looking; all for the sake of figuring the inner workings of a celestial parent's psyche. Until… someone tapped his shoulder, and quite aggressively, too. 'Oh, crud…' The unfortunate mortal's body went rigid, as he already knew who was hoping to have a few kind stern with him, and as such, Keiichi turned to the admittedly furious Norn of the future. "Yes, Skuld?"

"Bell's putting up a show, and… you're looking _elsewhere?_ " pointedly asked Skuld, giving poor Keiichi the shivers. "So… you're into the older and bolder, huh?"

"No! Wait, that's not it at all, Skuld! I was just wondering…"

"Uh huh… Carry on with what you were saying. I bet this is gonna be great," urged the Norn, in the most condescending tone she could muster.

Despite the death glare he was getting from the younger goddess, Keiichi leaned closer to her, as in to prevent Ansuz from listening in to their conversation. Which in fact wasn't that hard, given the loud music playing in the background. "I was just wondering what kind of stuff your mother likes. You know, in the event we become in-laws?"

For a moment, Skuld seemed ready to offer a retort, but Keiichi's comment reminded her that even she didn't know that much about her own mother. Because of that, Skuld decided to spare Keiichi the chewing off she intended to give him, and instead, make the best of this situation. "How about we do this? You are going to keep your eyes on my sister, and in the meantime, I'll observe mom. If I find out anything interesting, I'll let you know. Do we have a deal?"

"Of course!" hastily replied Keiichi, being more than happy to put this whole thing behind them. And with Belldandy now starting her own solo, his attention was now fully drawn to his girlfriend's performance. 'Her voice is so beautiful! Actually… she's beautiful in every sense of the word. Period.'

As the night progressed, Keiichi's opinion about the concert started to change: from what he initially perceived as an interruption, to what eventually became an almost integral part of his date. Just listening to Belldandy sing was an experience all by itself, and though it was true that she could've done the same in a private setting, he honestly doubted that it would've felt natural for her.

The only thing left, was to figure out a way to sneak into the backstage, once the show was over.

XXX

Slightly more than four hours later, the concert was finally over, and the stars of the night were allowed to retire to their luxurious motorhome. At the size of a tour bus, and with expanding walls once it was parked, it offered at least as much -if not more- space as a small apartment. Still, for Belldandy and Peorth, this was actually an upgrade compared to the hotel room they used to live, back in Nekomi; and without sacrificing any of the creatures of pleasure they had available there. More importantly, the feeling of isolation from their demon 'caretakers' was a welcome change for the duo, even if it did prove problematic on certain occasions. And though in most of such cases it was Peorth who got visited by a certain friend of hers… tonight, the tables have turned, and Belldandy who was expecting company.

"He's late…" sighed the Norn for the umpteenth time, checking her watch to make sure that it wasn't her mind playing tricks on her. And sure enough, it's only been five minutes since the last time she checked, much to her roommate's chagrin.

"For goodness' sake, Belldandy! Stop worrying that much, and try to relax. It takes time to go around all the guards, even if more than half of them are willing to turn a blind eye when it comes to your lover," said Peorth in annoyance, although her tone became more playful as she finished her last sentence. After all, she didn't blame her friend for becoming nervous while waiting for Keiichi's arrival; which was exactly why she tried to calm her down, before her anxiety got the better of her.

"For the last time… _he's not my lover!_ " insisted the Norn, while looking away to hide the rather embarrassing blush that was spreading across her face. Although most of the time she and Peorth got along just fine, it was moments like these, that she felt like pulling her friend's hair.

"Yes, yes… I've heard you," said Peorth with an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes for more effect. "However, do I need to remind you, that no matter how inconvenient our predicament may be, it's still your best chance to get it going with him? Because if you wait until we return back to being goddesses, then chances are that he's going to get cockblocked by the System."

If Belldandy was blushing before, now she was beet red; to the point that it was almost hilarious. "That's not the case with Keiichi!"

 _That_ was more than enough to pique Peorth's curiosity, since it wasn't hard to mistake the Norn's reply as a case of factual statement, based on past experiences. "Oh dear… Is he having performance issues? Don't worry, it's not the end of the world! In some cases, it's only a matter of anxiety, and once you get past that, then-"

"No, not at all!" emphatically protested Belldandy, even if she wasn't sure what was the worst: the insinuation that she tried that with Keiichi, or that he wasn't up for the task. Whatever the case may be, Belldandy wasn't in the mood to have such silly conversations. "And I don't want to discuss this, either!"

"Hey, don't dismiss my advice! I know some natural techniques to help you overcome such hurdles," tried Peorth, but just looking at Belldandy's stern expression was more than enough to dissuade her from going any further. "Fine, be like that. Try asking Urd's help, if you think that's going to make things better."

Just as Belldandy took a deep breath to calm herself down, the faint sound of footsteps from outside caught her attention, and a quick glance over at Peorth verified that the other demoness also heard the same thing. "That must be Keiichi! He's finally here!" said the delighted Norn, almost jumping up and down from her excitement. "Peorth-"

"Yeah, I know. I'll give you lovebirds some privacy," said the brunette, as she got up from the sofa, to take a better look outside through the windows. Sure enough, there was a man standing outside their motorhome's main entrance, and despite his jacket and baseball cap he wore to make himself less recognizable, she felt almost certain that this was Keiichi. "That's him alright. So, I'll just teleport out, to speed up things for you. Are you ready, though?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," said Belldandy, even though she sounded less certain that she would've preferred. Then again, this was the first time she was having a date drop by her house for a visit. Of course, that was Keiichi she was talking about, so, it was highly unlikely that he would grab the opportunity to push things too far, and put her in a position she wasn't prepared for.

"Okay then! Try to keep your cool, and if things get awkward, offer him some distractions. You know… a snack, or talking about tonight's concert. Just make sure you keep talking, or else you'll end up staring each other until it's too awkward to carry on," said Peorth with a wink. "Now, make sure to have a great time! We'll talk later!"

"Later," agreed Belldandy, offering her friend a warm smile. Despite their previous discussion, it was obvious that the fellow brunette genuinely wished to help her, rather than just mess around with her love life. And in all honesty, that was something Belldandy appreciated, given that she actually needed all the help in the world when it came to relationships. Even though she felt that it was a great opportunity to push forward her relationship with Keiichi right now, since there was no Judgment Test to worry about… another part of her found it too irresponsible. In the best case scenario it could lead into some nasty ups and downs in their relationship, but in the worst case, it might actually alienate Keiichi, who after all, is nearly as inexperienced as her.

These troublesome thoughts did little to help Belldandy shrug off the uneasiness of meeting Keiichi in such a private setup, but with him knocking on the door, the time for hesitation was long gone. Her best bet was to focus on one task at a time, and go through the process in a natural manner. And even if that was easier said than done, Belldandy took a few deep breaths and approached the door, which she opened with a press of single button. Like everything else in this luxurious motorhome, the door was fully automated, and even a pair of steps unfolded as it opened, which apparently caught Keiichi's attention. After all, the boy was indeed an engineer, and such tiny details were much better appreciated by someone like him. "Hello again, Keiichi! I'm so sorry for the long delay, but the concert lasted longer than I thought it would."

"No, no! I'm the one who should apologize! It took me forever to get here, and… I was worried that by the time I arrived, you would've already fallen asleep." said Keiichi, yet without elaborating as to why exactly that was the case. It was true that he had to go past more than enough guards, but… it was so painfully obvious that they were told to turn a blind eye at his presence, that the whole thing was a child's play. Sure, he doubted if that was the case in the event Skuld or Ansuz tried to follow him here, although that wasn't the main point. In reality, he only realized the implications of meeting Belldandy in such a private setting mere minutes ago, and that was all that it took a certain part of him to nearly lose his nerve. It was the same part that contributed to his low esteem when it came to subjects he was less certain about, in sharp contrast to his confidence whenever tackling mechanical problems, or even dealing with motorbike races in the past. "Actually, if it's a bit too late, I understand. You need all the rest after that performance-"

"What? No, please come inside!" insisted Belldandy, who nearly reached out to grab Keiichi before he got any funny ideas and left. Thankfully, she didn't come to resort to such drastic measures, as her boyfriend walked into the motorhome, and looked around in wonder.

"This kind of reminds me the RV I'm staying right now… only it's way bigger." As much as he felt impressed by the sight of all the luxuries available in this place, Keiichi tried to hide it, since he didn't wish to give Belldandy the idea that he was all that interested in material goods. The last thing he needed was to resemble one of those guys who showered Sayoko with superfluous gifts, in hopes of getting access to her fortune. And while it was highly unlikely that Belldandy would suspect something like that, he still wanted to make sure that she knew that he was there for _her_. "Oh, I almost forgot! I totally loved your performance tonight. I've heard some of your songs before, but attending your concert was much more enjoyable."

"Thank you, Keiichi! I must admit that I'm a bit apprehensive with our songs, given that the lyrics tend to be somewhat… cheesy at times? I'm not sure how to express it, but love songs here on Earth are often come off as too shallow and superficial. And while our own version is on the other side of the spectrum, where love is so idealized and perfect of a concept that it's also unrealistic, I tend to prefer that version. I could be biased though."

"Nah… I think you're right. Besides, the whole thing is too commercialized here, which does take away some of its intended effect. Still, I didn't know that you were a skilled dancer, too." In all honesty, Keiichi still felt somewhat embarrassed to offer compliments, even though this wasn't their first date. Then again, old habits die hard, and his shyness was unfortunately something that was far from gone, leaving him with those infuriating butterflies in his stomach, whenever he said anything particularly corny.

"Aw… it's so sweet of you! Although, I think I don't quite deserve it," said Belldandy, but immediately carried on, since she noticed that Keiichi was about to correct her. "You see, we have much greater stamina compared to a mortal. So, it's almost trivial for me and Peorth to carry on with a pretty energetic routine for a significantly longer time, when most others would've found it impossible to keep up with us. That's also why we rarely have humans alongside us on the stage, and in some cases we deliberately have some slower songs at certain points, just to avoid getting everyone too suspicious about our endurance."

"Huh… I never thought about that," admitted Keiichi, while he took a seat on the sofa. He was unsure if that's what he was supposed to do in a situation like this, but then again, standing up in the middle of the room would've been too awkward. However, the moment he came to rest on the couch, Keiichi honestly wished he could take this puppy home, or more precisely, back to the RV he now lives in. The level of comfort offered by the memory foam inside the cushions was only augmented by the smooth texture of the microfiber covering, that wrapped the entire thing in a package of luxury that was out of this world. Sure, it was somewhat ironic that he would think something like that about an expensive -albeit ridiculously comfortable- couch, yet perceive his interactions with interdimensional beings as normal. Not to say a thing about the fact that the woman he came to consider as his girlfriend also counted as such a being, and one that was several centuries his senior, too. 'Uh… what am I even thinking? I must be really tired, and it's not like I did anything nearly as exhausting as Bell. No wonder she said that she's got more stamina!'

Unbeknownst to Keiichi, the Norn in question was searching through the pantry for some snacks they could eat while watching a movie. However, while there was no shortage of available options, Belldandy felt adamant not to offer anything that failed to meet her high nutricional standards. As she unfortunately found out, more than half of them lived up to the term 'junk food' that was often applied to them, and the rest just didn't suit the occasion. After all, no matter how nutritious a bowl of wholegrain cereals happened to be, it was something better suited for breakfast, rather than a romantic movie night. 'This is getting nowhere, so, let's just pick a bag of popcorn and get it over with. It's not like the few extra calories from the butter will cause any permanent harm. On the other hand, if I keep stalling like this, I will end up ruining the mood for good.' With that in mind, Belldandy grabbed a popcorn bag, and tossed it in the microwave oven. Punching the corresponding time written on the package, she took the opportunity to steal a glance at her boyfriend who sat across the room, all while she pretended to be busy. 'I wonder what he's… _Good Heavens, he's staring at my bum!_ '

Belldandy's head turned sharply to the left, as the Norn tried her best to hide her embarrassment, especially after witnessing the almost uncharacteristically satisfied look in Keiichi's eyes. Sure, she may have gone a bit too far with her outfit during the concert -despite her attempts to deny that fact- but she wasn't expecting it to have such an effect on Keiichi. As a matter of fact, it was exactly due to the fact that her boyfriend _wasn't_ paying too much attention to such things, that she decided to go a bit overboard, only to find out that she bit more than she was ready to chew. 'What am I supposed to do now? I don't want to come off as a big tease, but… I've been totally teasing him up until now!' Her thoughts were interrupted by the oven's timer, that offered a welcome distraction from the dilemma she was dealing with. At the very least, serving the popcorn, as well as choosing a movie for them to watch, would buy her some time to figure out what to do.

Ironically enough, it was only now that the oblivious mortal took notice of Belldandy, as she approached him with a bag of popcorn at hand, as well as a pair of soda bottles that she held by their necks. And in all honesty, for the peckish Keiichi that was a welcome sight, since it's been hours since the meal he had with Ansuz and Skuld at a local fast food restaurant. Which was exactly why he failed to notice the somewhat nervous look on Belldandy's face, and instead moved to side, so that she had enough room to sit next to him on the couch. "Good call, Bell! This almost feels like we're at the cinema, but without nosy people to worry about. You know… with you being a celebrity and all that."

"Fair enough… Even I get tired of it at times," replied Belldandy with a sigh, as she plopped next to Keiichi, and handed him a soda. Thus far, she tried to act normally, and judging by the looks of it, so did Keiichi. 'Maybe… I was overthinking about it? After all, it's been a long day.' Making sure that she picked the lemon flavored soda, which apparently didn't cause her to get completely drunk, unlike regular cola, Belldandy switched on the TV. She had already picked a movie for them, that she previously watched with Peorth when they were bored a couple of days ago, and though it was a bit old, this happened to be the DVD re-release. "Now, how about we forget about my fame, and enjoy the movie?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" said Keiichi with a smile, while he carefully edged closer to his girlfriend. After all, he didn't wish to give her the idea that he was too forward, but rather enjoy a romantic moment with her, especially thanks to the fact that there were no spectators to worry about. As the movie showed up on the screen, Keiichi almost took a double take, as the story taking place in a galaxy far, far away… wasn't exactly what he had in mind to set up a romantic mood. "Uh… Bell? Are you sure this is the right DVD?"

"Oh, yes!" replied the enthusiastic Norn, much to her boyfriend's disbelief. "Like I said, I watched this film with Peorth, when we were bored, and I loved it! Especially the picnic with the teddy bears at the end of-..." Without warning, the Norn stopped in the middle of her sentence, and her eyes widened in surprise. " _Oh, no!_ "

"What is it?" asked the worried Keiichi, who feared that Belldandy sensed the presence of any demons heading their way. "Are the guards coming for me?"

"Actually… no, not really. However, I kind of gave off a spoiler," said Belldandy, offering her baffled boyfriend a sheepish expression.

"Uh… Belldandy?... That's not exactly a spoiler. The movie's been around for many years already. So, I kinda know the ending," said Keiichi with a nervous chuckle, especially given his girlfriend's previous enthusiasm. And to avoid giving her the wrong idea about his comment, he immediately added. "But, I'd love to watch this with you! Besides, I can't even remember when was the last time I saw it."

"That's so good to know, Keiichi!" This actually brought a smile on Belldandy's face, as she initially worried that she picked the wrong movie for them to watch. Sure, she already knew that this wasn't a romantic movie, but at the same time, Belldandy doubted that anything too touchy-feely would work well with Keiichi. And judging by the way he's currently acting, her previous concerns must've been the result of her own anxiety. Which simply meant that she too wasn't quite ready to take the next big step. Therefore, something a bit safer -like this- was the safest option. Still, she didn't wish to come off as a total bore either, so, the moment she leaned against Keiichi's shoulder, she reached to grab a popcorn flake and brought it in front of her boyfriend's face. "Say ah!"

" _Eh?!_ " exclaimed the surprised mortal, turning almost red when he realized what was going on. 'This!... This is the famous ' _ah open up'_ routine!'

"Close, but not quite right! Let's try again," said the smiling Norn, as she pointedly pulled her hand away, and then brought it in front of his face. "Say, _ahhh!_ "

"A-Ah?..." Keiichi's face was so red at the moment, that he worried that he might pass out from all the blood rushing on his head. And the sensation of Belldandy's little tap on his lips as she fed him the popcorn flake didn't help matters either, nor did her giggle as she reached for another flake. 'I… I think I can get used to this.'

"There! Much better!" laughed Belldandy, as she carried on, and this time ate one of the flakes, despite pretending that she was going to feed it to Keiichi. In some ways, this reminded her the playfulness that was more to be expected from Urd. And in all honesty, she loved the effect it had on her boyfriend. Sure, she wasn't exactly going for the kill -so to speak- but the potential for fun was hard to ignore.

'Poor Keiichi… His face is _so_ red! I kinda feel bad for teasing him like that, but… he's so adorable! I can't just stop right now. Although… I shouldn't overdo it, or I'll end up making him too uncomfortable. Darn! Urd makes this look so easy! Well… for now, let's try to watch the movie with him, and see how it goes.'

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone here and the Goddess Relief site for offering their continuing support.

I finally got to finish the second part of the date, so, that on the next chapter I can move the story a bit forward once more. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, despite the somewhat silly moments in there. It felt better to make it more lighthearted while covering this date, especially given that the next needs to be a tad more serious.


	18. Chapter 18

I do not own Ah! Megami sama/Oh! My Goddess series or its characters.

* * *

There comes a time in every mother's life where a daughter finally flies the nest, especially when she's ready to make one of her own. And while this was still too soon to consider making it official for Belldandy and Keiichi, when the latter failed to return early the previous night, Ansuz felt that he and her daughter finally took the next step in their relationship. Because of that, she spent more than enough time last night preparing a conversation with her youngest daughter, since she wasn't sure whether the little goddess was actually ready to handle the idea of her big sister being involved in a more physical manner. After all, everything sounds good in theory… until the time of turning it into practice comes. And for someone as temperamental as Skuld is, that could be more than a challenge for her level of maturity.

However, the mere fact that Skuld was currently laughing her ass off, proved that not only her expectations were a tad off the mark, but also that something went wrong with that plan to begin with. "Let me put it straight. You slept with Belldandy, but… _literally?_ "

"Yes," admitted the deeply embarrassed mortal, since this whole situation proved a bit more difficult for him to admit. Plus, Skuld's reaction sure didn't make matters easier for him either, given that like many others her age, she showed no mercy.

" _Pff!... Fail!_ And they call _me_ the kid here!" managed the young Norn between her fits of laughter, pausing only to take a few breaths and then carry on with her roasting. "Maybe I should add an Internet access point here, just to give you some ideas and motivation? After all, everyone knows that Internet's for po-"

" _Finish that sentence and you're in for a lot of trouble, young lady!_ " warned Ansuz, and even shot her daughter a withering stare, just in case the latter dared to ignore her. Thankfully, Skuld seemed to get the message which allowed the elder goddess to turn her attention to her aspiring son-in-law. "Look, Keiichi… I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I kinda thought that since you didn't return home early… well, you and Bell… you know."

"Please, there's no need to apologize, Ansuz. I suppose it's my fault for not offering a proper explanation." That being said, Keiichi had no idea how to say that he spent most of the night sleeping next to Belldandy, who was apparently as exhausted by the whole date as he was. In all fairness, it wasn't exactly a case of physical exhaustion, but rather an emotional one, given that both of them tried their best to keep the other entertained during their somewhat awkward date. So, at some point towards the end of the movie they watched together, Keiichi closed his eyes, just for the briefest moment. However, by the time he opened them up again, it was already morning, and Belldandy didn't seem to mind snuggling next to him on the couch.

"Never mind me," said Ansuz with a shake of her head. "How did Belldandy took this?"

"Ah… well…" As simple as that question was, Keiichi suddenly found himself tongue-tied, especially with Skuld being in clear earshot of them. "She was a bit confused when she woke up, and started to panic about… you know… stains on the sofa, and all that."

For a while, both goddesses gave Keiichi a totally blank stare, given the absurdity of his statement, but eventually Ansuz found it hard to hold back, and began sniggering. "Out of all the things she could worry about, making a mess was her problem? Ah, Belldandy… you never change."

While her mother chuckled at her sister's reported antics, Skuld shook her head, and decided to resume her breakfast. Despite appearances, Skuld was quite busy upgrading the battery of her Time Accelerator Mk. III, just so that it lasts for a couple of hours longer. Ideally she wanted more than a whole day worth of continuous operation, but with her relying on the thing so much as of late, it was hard to find the opportunity to do any extensive work on it. A major overhaul could after all take a couple of days to finish, leaving her as a kid in the meantime. 'Speaking of kids… I wonder if I should tell mom about that message I got last night. Heck, how did they even get hold of my personal number is beyond me, but they seem to be on our side. Well… maybe.'

Making sure that her mother was still chatting with Keiichi, the young Norn brought out her communicator and checked the message once again, just in case she got anything wrong in the first place.

' _Miss Skuld, I'm really sorry for the trouble I caused back there. It was my first time on the mortal realm, and I didn't know how shops work here. I hope you're too angry for that misunderstanding. Still, me and Aldrnari (my brother) need to catch that Aoshima creep, and I hope that you might give us a hand. So, can you meet us in the location I listed below? Oh, and please don't tell my brother I asked your help, or he might get pissed off with me. Demonic pride and all. Thanks again, Vidir.'_

XXX

 _Muspelheim_

As the locals like to say, pain is merely the weakness that leaves the body, so, the more of it one experiences, the stronger they're bound to become. And while she'd love to dismiss this notion as an excuse to glorify one's masochistic tendencies, Urd could vaguely recall yet another saying, this time from the mortal realm: no pain, no gain. So, perhaps there was something constructive from being subjected to the torture that started out as a mere training session between her and Lind, only to end up in something akin of a duel. Of course, the keyword here was _akin_ , given that for that to be true, Urd should've at the very least a fleeting chance of winning. Instead, she ended up on the receiving end of a hands down beating, even if her sparring partner didn't intentionally wish to harm her.

The only positive thing about this situation was the impromptu first aid lesson, where Lind demonstrated how to turn an offensive ice spell into the equivalent of an ice pack, meant to alleviate Urd's pain. Not that it made the Norn completely forget the sensation of going through a sand dune at a speed that made it impossible for the sand to absorb all that kinetic energy, resulting in a huge explosion.

" _Damn it, you bullheaded Valkyrie! I think you broke my leg!_ " gasped Urd, before she bit her lower lip to hold back a pained groan.

"No, I didn't. You've only sprained your ankle, so, stop being so overdramatic," replied Lind while she dressed the said ankle in bandages, and then applied more ice on top of it. Even though she tried to act cool, Lind had to admit that this was the result of her own inability to properly hold back Urd, as the half demoness was catching up to her at an alarming rate. Granted, the Norn was nowhere as experienced and well versed in the art of war as her, but the sheer force she put behind her every move was starting to tip the scales of their duel to her favor. Still, Lind worried that if she allowed herself to lose this duel -even by accident- then Urd's ego would get so stoked, that in the long run it might cause more harm than good.

" _Overdramatic?!_ I'll show you overdramatic!" cried the stricken Norn, as she lunged at the unsuspecting warrior, and pulled her into a headlock. Of course, Lind wasn't going to submit that easily, and immediately attempted to break free from Urd's grasp, which quickly escalated into a rather disorderly wrestling match. And with both of them being so close to the edge of the impact crater Urd made moments ago, it didn't take long before they ended up tumbling down its rim. However, what little advantage she managed to leverage over her opponent was eventually lost, as the latter's combat experience soon came into play, and as soon as they stopped moving, Urd found herself pinned underneath Lind's axe, that she somehow managed to summon during all that mayhem and used it to restrain the unruly Norn.

" _Stop being so childish!_ If you keep going at it, you'll only end up more injured! And this time, not because I screwed up!" barked the blue haired demoness, with her eyes flashing a brilliant crimson, just to make her point across. She ever pressed her axe's hilt harder against the Norn's sternum, and moved to straddle her hips, using her own legs to make sure that she couldn't move at all. Even if she had a sprained ankle, Urd was still far from harmless, especially once agitated; and at the time being, she was downright furious. As a matter of fact, the Norn's burning glare almost matched -if not surpassed- Lind's, with her irises slowly turning into tiny, cat-like slits, while the sharp canines that protruded from her lips made it clear that she was far from subdued.

" _Look who's talking! You couldn't handle the idea of losing to a greenhorn like me, and went all out, just to save face! Who's childish now?_ " countered Urd so hotly, that for a moment she caused her opponent to lose her grip of her axe, and back off. This gave her an opening to try to push Lind off of her, but she immediately caught up and pinned her down even harder.

" _I said, I screwed up! I didn't want to end up like this, but even I can't fully control myself the way I currently am!_ " With every passing moment her cool and collected facade crumbled, leaving behind a side of Lind that she rarely displayed in front of others.

For a while, Urd remained perfectly still, as that last bit struck a nerve. It was such a familiar plight, that she almost felt like she was listening to herself from not too long ago. This was what finally convinced Urd to calm down, and try offer her insight on this particular problem, rather than holding Lind responsible for something beyond her control. "Okay, let's take a break. This is getting us nowhere," said Urd with a sigh, as she let go of Lind's axe and visibly relaxed, to prompt her to do the same as well. "You can let go of me, too. I'm not planning to attack you; I promise."

"Thank you," was Lind's simple reply, before she set the battle axe aside. It felt really awkward for her to show weakness in front of others like this, but as the saying goes, there was no point crying over spilt milk. Besides, she hated how difficult it was for her to control her reactions at times, with the worst incident being back when that Aoshima sleaze kept insulting her, until she lost it. And as much as she'd love to dismiss it as an isolated event, the fact that she actually injured her trainee was more than worrisome. Even though that was an occupational hazard for all who followed a warrior's lifestyle, it was still not acceptable for an instructor to accidentally hurt their trainees, especially if there were other alternatives. The only thing was that in her current state of mind, whenever she got too excited, her bloodlust threatened to overwhelm her reasoning and turn her into a mindless killing machine. And while she wouldn't admit it out loud, Lind started to develop a sense of respect for the members of demonic military, who must deal with this sort of thing on a nearly constant basis.

"I'd like to say it's my pleasure… but we both know this isn't the case," replied Urd with a sigh. She found it humorous that Lind still haven't gotten off of her, or even realize that this was a compromising position they were in, although at the same time, it did seem in-character for the former Valkyrie to miss a details like that. Then again, they had bigger problems to deal with, at least now that Lind was more willing to talk about them. "Hey, how about we take a break and head back to the city? I'm pretty sure that if we spend any more time here, Surt's going to send a search party for us. Besides, we need to take a rest; we're both tired."

Although her first thought was to decline any notions of feeling tired, Lind realized that she had nothing to gain by doing so. This was supposedly for the sake of helping Urd gain more control over her powers, even if they both ended up losing it, which resulted in this mess. "I concur. This lasted for much longer than it was actually necessary." Returning her axe to its crystalline form, Lind got up and attached it to her earring, just like the ones she used to wear as a Valkyrie. Actually, this was a gift from Surt for her and Urd's visit, and while she wasn't entirely certain, she could've sworn that these earrings were standard-issue Valkyrie gear. Now, how exactly the leader of Muspelheim got his hands on them, that was the topic of another discussion, but for the time being, she didn't complain. Just the feeling of familiarity this brought to her was more than enough to make this trip worthwhile, even if the ending was another matter altogether.

Before she could step aside to let Urd get up on her own, Lind noticed that the Norn raised her hand in a clear gesture for her to help her up. And though she initially thought that it was due to the latter's injury, Lind reminded herself that moments ago, Urd was perfectly capable to launch herself at her. Maybe this was more of a sign of trust on Urd's part, than actual necessity. And if that was indeed the case, then Lind was more than happy enough to take it. She never perceived herself as infallible, let alone perfect, but it was disheartening to see how often Celestials almost expected that from others. It was pretty ironic that it was actually the Infernals who had the reputation of being ruthless, and yet more than enough Celestials were happy to look down upon you on the first given opportunity. At the very least, Lind was happy that this wasn't the case with Urd.

"Thanks," said the Norn with a pained groan, as she accidentally put weight on her injured leg. Rather than complain about it, Urd wrapped an arm around Lind's shoulders, and without even asking the blue haired demoness steadied her. "Oh, before I forget! This doesn't mean that I'll let you off the hook so easily. You owe me whole bottle of sake once we get back."

"Wait… is that all?" asked the genuinely surprised Lind, who found it a bit hard to accept that anyone would simply forgive her like that.

"Why not?" casually countered Urd, and even made an attempt to shrug, only to give up when she found out how sore her shoulders felt. Still, in an effort to lighten up the mood, Urd added playfully. "But if you feel you need to do more, then add a kiss to the whole compensation, okay?"

Unsure how to respond, Lind took a moment to recollect herself and then offered a nod. She honestly had no idea whether the Norn was joking or not, even if she suspected that the former was more likely the case. Still, she couldn't totally dismiss the possibility that Urd actually meant what she said, and just didn't know how to make a pass at her. Not that she blamed her, as Lind was fully aware how awkward she was when it came to relationships. As a matter of fact, without the slightest bit of experience on this topic, the warrior was certain that she did absolutely nothing to entice her, at least not intentionally. 'What am I even thinking? Our first priority is to find a way to get home, not a date. Besides… I bet I'm overthinking this. It must be the stress… there's no other explanation.'

XXX

 _Earth_

When Kaun was first introduced as Welsper's replacement, he thought that his luck had finally turned for the better, as not only did he score a high profile job, but he also got a rather fantastic… bedmate. He honestly had no idea how to exactly describe his relationship with Peorth, or even if it counted as such, given that in the end it was all for the sake of furthering their individual goals. In his case, he hoped that once this whole mess sorts out and Hild-sama's restored to power, she would reward his efforts to assist her daughter's party with a substantial promotion he so much deserved. And from a demonic point of view, this is more than enough to justify his involvement with Peorth, who after all, was also aware of his main motivation for helping her.

Or at least… that's how things used to be.

He didn't know exactly when he started to see the former goddess differently, but if he had to take a guess, then perhaps his woes began when he got the chance to live close to her. Up until that point, all he ever did was to smuggle some messages between her and the Celestials, and then meet her on a couple of occasions, where the more… fun aspect of their partnership took place. Sure, that wasn't officially part of their deal, and actually started as Peroth's means of finding some stress relief, especially early on her life as a demoness. But to say that he didn't immensely enjoy those meetings, would've been a big lie, too.

The bottom line was that thus far, Kaun felt that he focused all his efforts at furthering his agenda -like any good demon- and avoided any complications by getting too involved in this. After all, once this was over, Peorth would simply go back to Asgard and forget about him, along with the time they spent together. Even if was merely speculation on his part, Kaun wasn't a fool in expecting that he meant anything more than a means to an end to her. Sure, goddesses weren't supposed to think like that, but at the time being, Peorth is a demoness; and she's got no reason to care for such pointless sentiments. What troubled him the most though, was given that he was a demon himself, Kaun shouldn't feel bothered either, and yet… that wasn't the case.

Perhaps spending this much time with her, whenever she didn't have anything else to do, was a big mistake. After all, it was inevitable that the longer they interacted, the more they delved into personal topics, that included seemingly mundane things like their interests, hobbies, favorite dishes, and other pointless details that he knew he shouldn't discuss with a goddess -at least one at heart.

'What the Hell am I doing?' wondered the demon as he stared at the spatula he used to stir the omelet he was preparing for Peorth. With the brunette soundly asleep, despite being nearly noon, Kaun thought that it would've been a nice gesture to prepare her breakfast, rather than just grab something from a local store. 'What am I? Her boyfriend?'

Although the answer to that question felt obvious enough to him, Kaun tried to focus on the omelet, and avoid this tricky subject as hard as he possibly could. Thankfully for him, he wouldn't get to think about those subjects for much longer, as that very moment the sound of footsteps coming from his motorhome's bedroom caught his attention. Not wanting to burn the breakfast, Kaun took the pan off the stove, and only then did he turn to greet the still drowsy demoness. "Good morning beautiful. Slept well?"

"Yeah... I really needed it." Stifling a yawn as she stretched, Peorth tried to shake off the sleep off her system, despite having more than enough hours of rest. Actually, the moment she glanced over at the kitchen's clock to check the time, Peorth almost had to do a double take, as it was nearly noon. "Holy!... I was more tired than I originally thought!"

"That you were," chuckled Kaun, and then reached for a plate to serve her omelet. Next was a trio of all-grain cookies with peanut butter filling, that Peorth seemed to enjoy, even though he seriously doubted it would be the case when he first picked the whole package from a local supermarket. Last but not least, a glass of full fat milk to accompany her breakfast, which by the looks of it seemed more than enough to count as lunch -and maybe even dinner for some. After all, he made everything by Peorth's specifications, and for anyone to be able to send down that cholesterol bomb, full fat milk was a necessity. It was truly times like this that Kaun was happy that immortals didn't gain weight. "I've made everything the way you like. Although… I did experiment a bit, just to turn the cooking process more efficient."

"Oh? Look at you get better at cooking! And all for me, too! I'm such a lucky girl!" said Peorth with a genuine smile, since the food's delectable aroma made any attempts at flattery totally unnecessary. One of the perks of being a demoness was the fact that whenever she had to offer critique, and her verdict wasn't favorable, Peorth had the luxury of telling a white lie and get away with it. Granted, there were situations where such a thing only led to worse problems down the road, especially if she encouraged bad behaviors, but thankfully enough, Kaun was indeed a pretty decent cook. Actually, that was far from the only noteworthy thing about him. Despite being a demon, and thus more selfish by nature, Kaun didn't shy away from pulling his weight when it came to housework. And in all fairness, Peorth was tired sick of those who only wished to be serviced, and never return the favor.

"Well, I'm glad you like it," said Kaun, trying his best to hide the tiny blush that appeared on his cheeks. He didn't even know why he considered such a silly praise to be important enough to react like that, but his best bet to avoid any further embarrassment was to immediately change the subject. "Now, I did what you've asked me, and stayed up for who knows how long to see if they got anywhere. And… nothing really happened. Not that I'm surprised or something, but I gave them the benefit of doubt."

"To be fair, I didn't think they'd go for it either. I was actually more interested to make sure that nothing bad happened, but I didn't intend for you do it on your own," admitted Peorth with a sigh, and then offered him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for falling asleep like that, Kaun. Dealing with most of those interviews on my own, just so that Bell got to spend a bit more time with Keiichi, must've taken its toll on me."

"Nah, It's alright. Besides, I didn't need to stay up all night, either. They kind of fell asleep as soon as that movie ended. Still, weren't they supposed to pick something romantic to watch? Not that I'm an expert on dates, but... I never expected space opera." The demon bemusedly shook his head, and watched Peorth chuckle to herself, before finally resuming her breakfast. "Movie choices aside, I'd call this a success. So, what's the next step?"

"Since they don't seem to be able to make a lot of progress on their own, a double date might help things a bit. This way, I can set up the mood, and then we can discreetly leave the scene, giving them the needed privacy to get things fired up for good! And that means _you_ are going to play the part of my boyfriend!" said Peorth with a conspiratory tone, as she leaned forward and reached across the table to bop the staring demon on the nose. Curiously enough, rather than chuckle at her mannerisms, Kaun more or less froze on the spot, and merely stared at her with an expression that could be described as well concealed panic. Outwards he was mostly trying to act as if everything was perfectly fine, yet there were more than enough subtle hints to point that the same couldn't be said about his emotional state right now. 'Uh oh… did I say something wrong?'

"Uh… boyfriend… right," said Kaun, and then cleared his throat, when he noticed that his voice sounded a bit higher than normal. The again, he didn't saw that one coming, even if seemed the logical thing to do in such a scenario. "And when are we going to try this?"

"Soon enough. We first have a couple of interviews to make, and another concert in North America to make, before we get a bit of free time between that and the next one at Europe." And though she didn't do it on purpose, Peorth's expression slowly changed into one that clearly displayed her fatigue from just thinking about all that work, she and Belldandy would've to do in the near future.

The demon nodded at her, and for a short while he simply watched her resume her breakfast. He honestly didn't know what to think about all this, as the idea of acting the part of Peorth's boyfriend was both terrifying and exciting to him. Yet, the longer he toyed with this idea in his mind, the more it started to sound… appealing to him. 'That's it. I'm totally doomed.'

XXX

 _Nekomi, Japan_

The sound of heavy footsteps broke the eerie silence inside the abandoned warehouse, as a cloaked, feminine figure entered the dilapidated building, and immediately started to look for those she was meant to meet here. A quick check at her communicator revealed that she was indeed at the right place and time, so, those two should be hiding somewhere inside this building. And though she initially felt peeved that they invited her, only to end up playing a stupid game hide-and-seek, she eventually realized that perhaps they weren't sure about her identity. After all, her specially designed electric cloak was capable of jamming her energy signature to the point where most immortals wouldn't be able to positively identify her. At least, not without a significant effort on their part, which was probably something that those kids weren't capable of.

Because of that, Skuld came to a stop and pulled back the hood of her cloak, which was more than enough to cancel its effect. Of course, this put her in a state of high alert, given that she wasn't entirely sure that this wasn't some elaborate trap. And to make matters worse, she sneaked out of the RV without telling her mother anything about this meeting.

"Alright, I'm here! Now, how about you show up, too?" called the faux adult, while reaching the front of her clothes to grab a bomb, just in case this turned out to be a trap. She was actually so tensed up, that the moment she heard movement, Skuld nearly tossed the bomb, yet barely stopped herself at the last second.

"We're here!" came a surprisingly youthful voice from behind some crates, as a kid with tan skin and dark blue hair made his way out of his hiding place. Behind him was a somewhat older teen with similar skin color, yet white hair, who clearly didn't seem terribly happy to be here, although judging by the looks of it, he probably didn't have much of an option for that matter. "Sorry that we didn't show up earlier, but we didn't know for sure that it was you. That's a nice cloak, by the way. Did you make it?"

The Norn struggled to find her voice, as not only the familiar appearance of the two demons took her totally by surprise, but their age was another unexpected fact. From what she recalled, this definitely didn't look like the guy that tried to pick her up the other day, and not just in terms of his appearance, but his age as well. "Hold it! Who are you?"

"Huh? I did mention my name in that message, right? I'm Vidir!" replied the confused demonic youth, only to notice the blank stare he got from Skuld. That's when he realized the root of the problem, and with a nervous chuckle, the young demon scratched the back of his head. "Oh, right! I forgot to mention that back then I was using a disguise. This is actually my real appearance and age."

" _Say what?! But… but…_ " Struggling with her words, the incredulous Skuld could barely contain her overwhelming frustration that accompanied this shocking revelation. " _I don't believe it! The first effing person who hits on me, and it turns out it's a dumb kid!_ " She was actually so furious, that she totally lost control of her herself and went ahead and blurted all that, without batting an eyelash. Unfortunately, by the time she came to her senses and realized what she just said, the damage was already done.

Both demons openly stated at her, with Vidir almost terrified at the prospect of having accidentally courted a goddess -or anyone for that matter. The young demon was still at the age where romantic relationships sounded pretty icky, even though this whole misunderstanding was largely due to his own attempt to contact Skuld. Of course, Vidir didn't have any idea that his overly friendly attitude during that incident was actually mistaken for flirting. And to make matters even worse for the embarrassed young demon, his brother almost burst into laughing from the absurdity of this whole scene.

"Way to go, tiger!" said the unnecessarily cheerful Aldrnari, as he slapped his brother's back. "The first girl near your age you talked to, and she's already head over heels for you!" Joke or not, the white haired demon's comment proved to be the last draw for Skuld, who unceremoniously tossed a bomb at the two siblings. But that was merely the beginning, as she kept chucking more and more explosives at the offending duo, until Aldrnari's hastily erected shield nearly collapsed. " _Hey, cut it out! Can't you take a joke?_ "

"A _joke?!_ You call _that_ a _joke?!_ " demanded the furious Skuld, barely holding back, before she launches one of her more powerful bombs at them. She was already running out of the regular Skuld-bombs -that were more bark than bite anyways- and decided to go for something a tad more substantial. "Want _my_ idea of a joke, you asshat?"

Given how rapidly this situation was deteriorating, Vidir made a desperate effort to put an end to this dispute, before any hopes for a negotiation vanished. "Whoa! Can we just talk this out? We're not enemies… or at least, we've got a common goal."

"Even if that's true, this still doesn't make us friends," dismissively said Aldrnari, who refused to take his eyes off of Skuld, almost expecting her to lunge at him any moment now. "Besides, I thought that we were meeting Urd, not her _youngest_ sister."

Under any other circumstances, Skuld would've already blasted him sky high for his trouble. However, on this occasion the goddess chose to swallow her pride, and stash the bomb back into her clothes; at least until she found more about their motives. "I suppose you do have a point. And for the record, _I_ wasn't the one who started this in the first place."

The hint as to who was the culprit here was so obvious that it caused Vidir to wince in response, and nervously glance over at his brother. Surprisingly enough, Aldrnari merely crossed his arms and maintained his silence, allowing his younger brother to try to salvage this negotiation before it was beyond saving. "Right…" The young demon cleared his throat and turned his attention to Skuld, who tried to ignore the other demon for the time being. "As I mentioned in my message, we really need to catch that Aoshima guy, miss Skuld. So, how about we work together?"

"I do recall that. But what really matters to me, is why do you want _my_ help," said Skuld, but then smirked as she added. "Besides, based on what I saw back then, it's more likely to have my license suspended from getting involved in your shenanigans, than actually do something useful."

The demonic duo grimaced at the mention of their fiasco back in Nekomi, as it put them in the clearly undesirable position of having to explain themselves at their father, who most certainly didn't find it as funny as some others might. Worse yet, it became apparent that despite her real age, Skuld didn't act nearly as impulsively as they expected. This simply meant that more explanations were in order, yet at the same time, that was exactly what they wished to avoid from the get go.

"Let me put it like that," said Aldrnari, before his brother got the chance to speak up. "Aoshima works with a punished demon who's lending him his powers. To make things even worse, there appears to be a third party that's trying to make the best out of this situation. In other words, they've got someone to not only do their dirty work, but take the blame for it too. And as if that's not bad enough, we're thinking that Aoshima himself has his own agenda."

"Hold on a moment. While I get what you're saying, I still don't understand why two ki-... I mean… _younger demons_ are assigned to such an important task." Even though she tried not to sound too skeptical, Skuld couldn't help but to think that they were withholding information from her. Not that this came a huge surprised, considering the history of their respective species.

Aldrnari on the other hand, didn't seem impressed by the goddess' rebuke, and instead raised an eyebrow in response. "Even though you say that… you're not exactly older than us, and yer you've been tasked to oversee Belldandy's activities here on Earth."

The jab was way too obvious, but at this point Skuld tried hard to ignore such petty insults, just to get somewhere with the ongoing negotiations. "Sure, that's one way to see it. Still, my mother is also present on Earth, just in case I happen to need her help. On the other hand, I've got a feeling that your father isn't even present on this realm, let alone directly oversee your activities. Or should I better say… your shenanigans?" Try as she might, the Norn couldn't resist the urge to add that little bit at the end.

"Our parents are needed elsewhere, so, they can't handle this in person," countered Aldrnari, without even missing a beat. "Besides, don't let a single incident fool you. We're more capable than you give us credit for."

"You know what?... This is getting nowhere," sighed Skuld, after it became obvious that the only thing she accomplished here was to get on this demon's nerves, and vice versa. Actually, this whole situation reminded her a more extreme version of her arguments with Urd, only in this case the jabs were real. More so, it was funny how these demons even resembled her eldest sister, although at the same time, the same could be said about the majority of the demonic population of Muspelheim. 'Isn't it weird, though? If these guys are from Muspelheim, then why are they wearing Jotunheim's combat gear?'

Looking between his brother and Skuld, Vidir felt troubled by this turn of events. He honestly couldn't understand just why it was so hard to agree on something this simple. Sure, that was to be expected when older immortal came together, thanks to the millennia long disputes between them, yet that didn't apply here. "Miss Skuld," said Vidir after a prolonged pause, just to give her some time to cool off. "I know that you probably don't trust us, but that Aoshima guy is bad news for you, too. So, we've got more to gain if we work together, instead of arguing for no reason."

"Tell that to your brother," muttered Skuld under her breath. Still, it was quite embarrassing that the youngest person present acted in a more mature manner, so, she eventually relented. "Alright, kid… no… Vidir. Tell your brother that I'll try to be civil, as long as he does the same."

Before the confused young demon was about to ask just why she didn't say that directly to Aldrnari, the latter offered an equally indirect reply. "Vidir, tell this goddess that I only care to do my job, not pick a fight with her."

'What do they think I am? A mediator for divorced couples?' The youngster let out a frustrated groan, before he threw his hands up in the air in resignation. "How about you talk to each other? What's the bloody point of cooperating if you're incapable of communicating?"

The two teens watched the young demon fume in response to their obstinacy, and shared a somewhat embarrassed look, given how immature their behavior had been up until now. With that in mind, they finally relented and decided to declare a temporary truce, just for the sake of their mutual goals. And given that it was Skuld who tried to match her current appearance with the maturity that one would've expected of her, she started first with her apology. "My bad… I suppose after what happened back when Hagall first took over, it made me reluctant to cooperate with demons. But, blaming just about every single member of your species, is simply unfair."

Try as he might, Aldrnari felt that following Skuld's example was necessary, even though he really didn't like apologizing to a goddess. Still, desperate times called for desperate measures, and this was no exception. "Can't say I'm too fond to deal with celestials either, but at least you're not that bad." Noticing the rather pointed glare he got from his younger brother, Aldrnari realized that there wasn't much difference from before. In his defense, however, he had never been the best negotiation, leaving most of the talking to his younger brother. "Anyway, back to our original topic! We've got a fugitive to catch, and we think we know what his next step might be."

"Let me take a guess… he's after Keiichi?" suggested Skuld, only to get a nod from both demons. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"He's predictable, alright," agreed Aldrnari with a roll of his eyes, a reaction that his brother also copied, albeit less dramatically. "And that's exactly why we wanted to talk to you. If he's after your mortal friend, then it's better if we work together, rather than have to sneak around both you, and him."

"You know, if you actually said that to begin with, then this whole argument would've been avoided. But you know what, I'm also to blame." Taking a deep breath, Skuld extended her hand in Aldnari's direction, which actually caught the demon off guard. He simply stared blankly back at her, prompting her to make a shaking motion in the air, so that he understood what she expected of him. Despite that, she maintained a smile on her face and waited patiently until he finally agreed to shake her hand, even if it took him way too long to do so. Still, it was the gesture that really counted for Skuld, and more so, the fact that she managed to make an agreement with a demon was much more important to her. Part of her even wondered if this is how her parents feel whenever they have to negotiate with the Infernals, and more importantly, if she did a great work at it.

"Well… I… suppose I also didn't make matters easier for us," reluctantly said Aldrnari, as he shook Skuld's hand. "But, I hope we'll somehow make this work. It'll be so much easier if we both try to do something about that guy, rather than make an attempt to capture him on our own."

And with that finally sorted out, the three of them started to discuss the finer details on how to deal with this particular problem, especially without giving themselves away. After all, a trap wouldn't work if it turned out to be way too obvious, as no matter how desperate Aoshima may be, he's probably not a total idiot - especially after his fall from grace.

XXX

 _Niflheim_

"Wake up, Ma-chan! It's almost noon, you lazy girl!"

"Mm… just a bit more…" mumbled the sleepy demoness in her sleep, turning around in her comfy bed, almost instinctively avoiding the sound of her mother's voice that beckoned her to wake up. Then again, considering the hearty dinner Fehu served her the previous night, along with the booze they drank while playing a few games in Urd's casino. More than anything else though, it was the VIP treatment that mostly excited Mara, since it proved such a welcome departure from the usual tales of woe that became synonymous with her schemes.

For once, it felt _great_ to be successful.

The one who didn't feel great though, was none other than the frustrated Fehu, who stared at her daughter that still refused to get off the bed. 'I try to be too strict, and she avoids me like the plague. I try to be too buddy-buddy, and she no longer gives a damn. Can't we just find a middle ground solution?' She shook her head in disdain, and carefully considered her options, which weren't exactly as numerous as she would've prepared. Still, more than half of those were nasty enough to negate the bonding she had with her daughter, the whole previous night. So, in the end, Fehu had to improvise a bit. "Well, don't blame me for not telling you, but since you're not taking Welsper's container to the Intelligence Sector, you might no longer be eligible to get the reward for bringing him in."

Two crimson eyes opened wide at the mere sound of that announcement, soon to be followed by the unmistakable thud of a person falling onto the floor, as the still half asleep blonde failed to properly disentangle herself from the bed covers. "Wha-?..." Mara looked around in a state of utter confusion, until she noticed her mother standing mere meters away from her, with a condescending look in her face as she stared down at her. And while she was still shaken from the news… the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like a red herring. "You know… there are better ways to wake me up, mom."

"That there are. And for the record, I tried more than one of them," agreed Fahu with a dramatic sigh, before she reached into her robes and produced an eerily familiar container, that caused her daughter to immediately search her own pockets. "Now, don't say that I haven't let you take some time off and relax. Still, you're not on vacations, and the sooner you hand Welsper in to the Intelligence Sector, the better."

Mara offered a slow nod, and carefully pocketed the container, just to avoid any further surprises. Of course, it was still a bit unsettling that her mother had already managed to not only find where she hid it, but also broke the protector she put on it. Then again, Fehu wasn't just the average demoness, despite her best efforts to throw people off with her mannerisms. "Got it. Is there anything else I need to know right now?"

"No, that should be more than enough," said Fehu, even though she could vaguely remember something about two young demons loitering around Nekomi; the very demons who got involved in that fiasco just the other day. However, given the fact that Skrymir purposely avoided any mention of them, even after her attempts to extract some information about this whole subject, Fehu reckoned that there was more about them than meets the eye. And if there was enough of a reason for the head of the Intelligence Sector to withhold information from her, then it was for the best that her daughter doesn't poke her nose in their business. "Just get over there, and try to be helpful. If they offer you an assignment, then by all means, go for it. Otherwise, return here, and we'll see what else needs to be done."

"Sure thing, mom," said Mara with a ghost of a smile, as this whole situation brought back memories of her earlier childhood. Even back then, Fehu sent her on assignments in order to learn how deal with all sorts of situations on her own. And though it didn't always work out in her favor, that experience proved invaluable for her development as a demoness; especially when it came to her self-sufficiency. "Oh, by the way… Do we have any news from the gods? I thought they've been working on a way to turn Urd and the others back into goddesses. So, what's up with that?"

"Hm… I must admit that I haven't heard much from them as of late. But, tell you what? That'll be on top of my list. Just make sure you make the best of handing Welsper over at the Intelligence Sector, and I'll do my part."

XXX

 _Earth_

Considering that little scene from early on, it didn't come off as a surprise that Keiichi wished to find something to preoccupy his mind, even if was nothing more than a mere distraction. And while living in the RV with Ansuz and Skuld did feel like a prolonged vacation, there were also times when he was left without interesting to do. After all, there's so much tuning he can perform on his Beemer, before he did more harm than good to his bike.

As an easy alternative, Keiichi went out for a jog around the lake, just like he did back in the days his senpai would take him, along the rest of the Motor Club members, out for some physical exercise. And truth to be told, this strategy did pay off, given that for the last couple of minutes, Keiichi got a chance to think something other than his current situation with Belldandy and the rest of the immortals he came to live with. At this point, he wasn't even sure what counted as normal anymore. His exposure to the immortal world, along with the whole hostage situation Belldandy and the others were in, was something that used to trouble him quite a bit earlier on, despite that he tried to hide it from the others.

Thankfully enough, things have calmed down as of late, but not to the point where this whole crisis is officially over. Having Urd as the Daimakaicho's deputy did wonders to improve the overall situation for sure, yet at the same time, Keiichi couldn't help but wonder if this was all a distraction. Perhaps that's why the rest of the demons didn't mind allowing Belldandy to see him, given that this was the easiest way to ensure her cooperation, especially since she wasn't the type to give into petty threats. And while that worked for them at the moment, Keiichi had to admit that the role of the carrot in this 'carrot on a stick' strategy didn't make him too comfortable -or proud for that matter. In a roundabout way, it seemed as if he helped them convince Belldandy to generate income for Niflheim, even if he never intended to do so.

Naturally, none of the others shared this viewpoint, but that didn't make him feel any better about this whole thing. Ideally, he'd rather work for a way to get Belldandy back, although this was such a tall order that even the best experts over at Asgard had yet to find a solution to this conundrum. And then there was another problem that complicated this situation even further: the Judgment Gate. Apparently Asgard didn't like inter-species relationships, and went as far as to create a test specifically meant to judge whether such couples were allowed to stay together or not. Quite frankly, Keiichi was fairly sure that this kind of measure was totally against any definition of individual rights here on Earth, but at the same time, celestials probably didn't share his opinion.

'Why am I still worrying about this? Ansuz told me that this is only a temporary thing, and that her husband -Belldandy's father- is currently working on a solution. So, what could I possibly do about it?' Despite his best attempt to rationalize it, deep down, Keiichi knew that the root of the problem was his own nature as a meek human. Compared to Belldandy and the rest of the immortals he came to live in, he was effectively useless when it came to otherworldly subjects. And for someone who learned to be self-reliant from a fairly young age, Keiichi didn't like the idea of sitting idly until someone else solves his problems.

" _Psst!... Over here!_ "

Now, Keiichi's been through all sorts of weird situations as of late, but when he turned to look for the source of that voice… and no one showed up, he thought that he was a bit too tired and tried to go back to his business. However, the voice persisted, and even became louder in response to his dismissal.

"Hey! Don't you dare ignore me, shorty! I didn't come here for this sort of gag!"

This time around, Keiichi managed to pinpoint the exact source of that voice, although when he actually saw a pup staring back at him… the poor mortal wondered if he started to lose it. "And now I think I'm listening to puppies talk at me." Feeling somewhat drawn to a weird dream caused by his own stress, Keiichi embraced the surrealism of this situation and bent down to pat the puppy on the head. "There. Good boy!..."

"Ate any weird mushrooms with your breakfast, pal?" asked the partially baffled, yet rather amused canine, as he shot him a level look. "First of all, you're petting the Dreaded Wolf, Fenrir! And secondly… you're way too into this, to get impressed by a talking wolf."

"Now that you mention it… you've got a point…" mused Keiichi, as he straightened up and made an effort to regain his composure. "At any rate, I'll have to admit that I never heard of you."

"Why am I not surprised?" groaned Fenrir, and shook his head in disdain. "Seriously, I hate delivering messages, but the boss thought that sending my younger brother would've been a bit too scary for you -especially if you don't like huge snakes. At any rate, that's not why I'm here! I've got a present for you."

"You do?" asked the intrigued Keiichi, given that as far as he could tell, Fenrir didn't seem to carry anything on him. "What is it?"

"Here, take this." Reaching with a front paw to his neck, Fenrir scratched his fur a couple of times, until a collar began to materialize around it. And not only that, but attached to the chain collar was a small metal sphere. Resembling the color of gold at a first glance, this mysterious item sported an irregular lattice pattern on its surface that gave the outwards appearance of an actual texture, even though it had in fact a glossy, smooth finish. "Don't ask me why, but the boss said that he wants you to have this trinket."

"Even if you say that, you do know that only a fool would accept a gift from a suspicious looking stranger," replied Keiichi, although he almost immediately came to regret his words.

"Are you calling _me_ suspicious? Eh, punk?" angrily asked the dreaded canine, going as far as to bare his teeth at the still skeptical mortal. "I came here all the way from Asgard, just to hand you this thingamajig! And I'm not going back without getting this job done! You hear me?"

However, Keiichi has already heard more than enough to convince himself that it was for his best interest to make a tactical retreat, and get Ansuz to give him a hand with this wolf. "I hear you, but it's rude if I don't give you something back as payment. So, wait here until I go and grab some cookies from the RV. Okay?"

"Ah, I see," replied Fenrir in a far more relaxed tone than before, since he felt that his job here was all but done. Still, as he watched Keiichi walk faster and faster towards the motorhome he lived across the lake, Fenrir couldn't help but notice that it didn't look as if he was just rushing to get those cookies for him. In fact, he was all but certain that the whole thing was a ruse, and the mortal made a run for it. "Hey… Hey, hold on a second! What the rush, boy? Come back here!"

" _Not a chance!_ " shouted Keiichi over his shoulder, not pausing even for a moment, just to make sure that he gained enough of a head start before the wolf went after him. However, given his experience so far, Keiichi knew well enough that his expectations meant nothing when it came to immortals. And sure enough, he could already hear Fenrir's footsteps right behind him, given that this was no ordinary wolf pup he was dealing with. 'Shoot! At this rate, I'll never make it to the RV! Why does this kind of things keep happening to me?'

Before Fenrir managed to catch up to Keiichi, a white silhouette entered his peripheral vision, causing the canine to slow down and glance in the newcomer's direction. ' _What the?!_ ' His eyes went wide, when he realized that the goddess flying over the lake was none other than Ansuz, who must've felt Keiichi's distress and came to his rescue. " _Yikes!_ "

The pursuer turned into fugitive, as the teal haired goddess summoned her great axe and prepared to take a swing at the wolf pup. " _Fenrir!_ " Letting out a mighty battlecry, Ansuz landed between him and Keiichi, carving a trench with her axe, that cut the ground like it was made out of paper. " _What do you think you're going, chasing Keiichi around? And why are you here, anyway? Answer me!_ "

Taking a couple of steps back, just to avoid agitating Ansuz any more than she already was, Fenrir raised a paw to his collar. "The boss wants me to give him this trinket. But, he's too much of a scaredy cat to even receive his gift."

"I'm not a scaredy cat!" objected Keiichi from his hiding place behind Ansuz… which in fact did little to support his case. Even Ansuz gave him an empty stare, as she looked over her shoulder, all while Fenrir did little to hide his 'well duh' expression.

"At any rate," said Ansuz, clearing her throat to draw Fenrir's attention back to her. "What's Loki up to, this time? No one told me that he wanted to send something to Keiichi. "

"Beats me. He didn't tell exactly what thing's even supposed to be," said Fenrir dismissively. "Can you at least take it, so that I'm free to go back?"

"Actually, why don't you follow me and Keiichi to our home? I need to make a few calls, and in the meantime you can have a snack."

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone here and the Goddess Relief site for offering their continuing support.

First of all, I'd like to apologize with the delays I'm getting between the releases of this and my other work as of late. Rest assured that I'm doing my best to keep up with my schedule, and avoid any further delays later on.

Now, as far as the chapter's contents are concerned, I feel that this is mostly needed to set up some future events. And while not much happened at the time being, I found it better to have a chapter to connect this with the next one.

Additionally, there's a little bit going on between Peorth and Kaun, which will also help Keiichi and Belldandy to get closer, once that double date takes place.

Finally, since this is likely the last chapter of 2018, I wish everyone happy holidays, and I'll see you in 2019!


End file.
